Tessy Igomu

So far, one person has been confirmed dead while 25 others have been rescued alive from the rubbles of the building that collapsed on Ita-Faji St. on Lagos Island, Lagos.

Our correspondent reports that 24 children and a pregnant woman were among those rescued.

Meanwhile, the remains of the yet-to-be-identified pupil who was a victim of the incident has been deposited in the morgue. Other school children, about 77 of them, were believed to be pupils of Aunty Esther Nursery and Primary School located on the building.

A distraught parent, Jide Adebayo, whose five-year-old, Lalid, was yet to be rescued, said he was called at about 10 am to rush to the scene soon after the building collapsed.

Another parent identified as Iya Ibeji, was weeping uncontrollably; she refused to be consoled at the scene of the crash. She claimed her sister’s three children, namely; Amina, Yussuf and Mubarak Oloyode were yet to be rescued.

She disclosed that the mother of the children, Ganiyat, fainted when she heard the sad news was rushed to the hospital.

According to reports, the building which had been showing signs of defect had begun sinking gradually before it finally collapsed. It had allegedly earlier been marked for demolition on three occasions by the Lagos State government.

Residents disclosed that there were visible cracks running down the back of the building.

The school, it was gathered, occupied the second and third floors of the building including the penthouse.

The first floor was occupied by tenants, while the ground floor had a warehouse and shops.

According to Adebayo Kehinde of the Public Affairs unit of Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, (LASEMA) “the incident occurred at about 10.30 am today (Wednesday).

“The search and rescue operation is presently ongoing with so many victims rescued alive through combined efforts of LASEMA and other emergency responders such as the Lagos State Ambulance Service, Lagos State Fire Service, Lagos State Building Control Agency, Federal Fire Service. Others include the National Emergency Management Agency, Nigeria Police Force, Rapid Response Squad, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Nigeria Red Cross Society and the Lagos State Neighborhood and Safety Corps.

“The exercise is being coordinated by the General Manager, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, Mr. Adesina Tiamiyu with the deployment of heavy and light rescue equipment from LASEMA and its stakeholders.”