Lagos Stops Work On Collapsed Building, 25 Workers Rescued

Lagos State government has stopped further work on the sevenstorey building under construction which collapsed on Wednesday in highbrow Banana Island.

The 25 construction workers, who were trapped in the building have been rescued and 16 of them who were injured taken to hospital for treatment.

To facilitate the rescue operation, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu yesterday stopped all building construction processes in the island to give room for a comprehensive audit by the officials of the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA).

The state’s commissioner for information and strategy, Mr. Gbenga Omotoso, who disclosed this yesterday in a statement, said the state government had launched a probe into the incident. Omotoso said, ‘’Nobody died in the incident, which occurred on Wednesday, as of the time of this report. Twenty-five people were rescued from the site.

“Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) scanned the building with a highprecision 3-D Laser Imagery System for life and found no evidence of anyone trapped in the rubble. A roll call has also been done by the site supervisors, with everyone accounted for.

‘’Lagos State Emergency Management Agency has continued with the excavation of the site, using the architectural designs. The site has also been divided into quadrants for a painstaking search and rescue operation.

“At present, quadrants 2 and 3 have been levelled to ground zero, having completed the search operation. Quadrants 1 and 4 are ongoing. “The physical planning and urban development commissioner Bamgbose-Martins, an engineer and special duties adviser Mobolaji Ogunlende, are coordinating the operations. LASEMA permanent secretary, Dr. Olufemi OkeOsanyintolu, is leading the operations,’’ he said.

He said the commissioner for health Prof. Akin Abayomi has visited the site and hospitals where victims of the incident were admitted, noting that of the 25 persons rescued by LASEMA, 16 who had moderate injuries were admitted at General Hospital, Odan, Lagos Island and Police Hospital Falomo for treatment and care.