Two occupants of the three-storey building that collapsed in Ojodu Berger axis of Lagos State has been confirmed dead and 15 others rescued by the emergency management team under the rubbles.
Identity of the two deceased adults have not been ascertained but they were said to be a male and female occupants of the ill-fated building in the state.
But the rescued victims include staff of the popular EqualRight restaurant who were inside the building when it caved in.
The bodies were recovered and the others were rescued by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), their Lagos State counterpart, (LASEMA) and others after the ill-fated building under construction caved in on them at about 9 am on Saturday in the state.
The structure sited on 9 Oremeta Street, Ojodu was said to have a section already completed and leased for commercial purposes, part of which the restaurant rented for business purposes
Confirming the casualties figure amid search and rescue operations on Saturday, the Southwest coordinator for NEMA, Ibrahim Farinloye, said that efforts are ongoing to ensure that all occupants of the ill-fated building were rescued.
Farinloye, who commiserated with the deceased, said that the cause of the collapse is yet to be ascertained.
The Permanent Secretary, LASEMA, Dr. Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, disclosed that one of the rescued victims was attended to by the agency’s Pre-Hospital Care Unit before been transported to the hospital for further medical attention.
Also, the Director, Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, Margaret Adeseye, added that they were transfered to the Lagos State Accident and Trauma Centre for further treatment by the Lagos State Ambulance Service
According to her, While the root cause of the collapse is being investigated. It is however succinct to note that unoccupied buildings are suspectable to collapse due to lack of maintenance, neglect, abandonment, environmental factors leading to unattended structural defects among others.
