Lekki counts six dead in collapse building

The City of Excellence has recorded her first major building collapse this first quarter of 2016 at the high brow Lekki area of Lagos.

The collapsed of the five story building still under construction happened in the early hours of Tuesday (yesterday) at Chisco Bus Stop in Lekki Phase One area of Lagos State. As of the time of going to press, the death toll has risen to six, sources confirmed.

National Emergency Management Agency, South West zone spokesmen, Mr. Ibrahim Faronloye and the Director of the Lagos State Fire Service, Rasak Fadipe, headed the search and rescue operation which continued till the peak of the afternoon of Tuesday.

The Daily Times gathered that the incident happened about 4:12 am local time with an unusual loud bang that woke up the neighbourhood.

“We were alerted around 4:20 am about the building collapse and immediately we mobilised resources and personnel and moved down fast,” a NEMA official told our correspondent.

It was too early to identify the cause of the collapse, but authorities gave the number of the dead priced out of the rubbles as at press time as six with many rescued alive.

It would be recalled that a two-storey building also under construction collapsed at Agungi-Ajiran road, off Lekki-Epe expressway in Lekki area of Lagos late September 2015, The building located at No. 37 Agungi, Ajiran Road, opposite Obafemi Olatunji Street, Lekki, had caved in around 6:45am.

Both the contractor and the owner of the house had fled when news of the collapse got to them. It was gathered that among those trapped were labourers and food sellers. Their voices were still heard till dusk as rescue workers battled to save them.

NEMA South-West spokesman, Ibrahim Farinloye, had said two persons were rescued from the rubble.

It was gathered that the owner was developing three buildings of two-storey each in the same compound but LASEMA General Manager, Michael Akindele, announced that the building had earlier been marked by the Lagos Building Control Agency (LASBCA) a month before the collapse and had ordered the developer to stop work as the development was illegal.