• Toddler among those rescued

By Tessy Igomu

A toddler was yesterday brought out of the rubbles of a building that collapsed in Lagos, thus, bringing the total number of those rescued and injured to 15, while eight have now been confirmed dead.
The collapsed building at Massey/Karena Street, off Campus Bus Stop, Lagos Island, it was gathered, caved in at about 2.30pm, after a downpour.
The toddler, Jehovahnifemi, was pulled out of the wreckage by official of the Lagos State Emergency Management (LASEMA).
The mother of the child, Mrs. Modupe Ariyo, who was full of thanks to God for sparing the life of her daughter and husband, described their lucky escape as a miracle, noting that it was unfortunate that several of her neighbours could not make it out of the building alive.
“All I can say is thank you Lord. It was not my doing, but that of God almighty. I thank God my other two children were not in the house at the time of the collapse. I also thank God my daughter, who was initially sleeping in the room woke up to join her father in the living room. If that did not happen, it would have been very difficult for her to be located,” she said.
Modupe described the building as a disaster waiting to happen, disclosing that several attempts to have the landlord get the house repaired had always fallen on deaf ears.
According to her, what finally dealt a death knell on the structurally defective house was a giant mast mounted on it, alongside a generator by a popular telecommunications company.
“The mast was mounted about three weeks ago and the vibration was too much for us to bear. At a point, water started leaking into the building from the point where the base was drilled into the roof of the house. We went to complain to the landlord’s son, but he did nothing. At a point, some tenants went to make a report at the police station, but they were detained. It’s unfortunate that the landlord’s son was among those that lost their lives,” she said.
Other residents also disclosed that the building was structurally defective.
It was gathered that the collapsed building, which was about 40 years old, was initially a bungalow before being converted into a four-storey building over the years.
Among the dead, who were later pulled out of the rubble were Olumiyiwa Shakiru, Ademola Moruf Taiwo and Zainab Balogun.
Family of the deceased were also on hand to claim their corpse for burial.
Speaking about the rescue operation, LASEMA’s General Manager, Adesina Tiamiyu, said operations have been put on hold, pending further investigation.
He noted that the investigation would be done with other emergency management agencies to ensure that the number of families living in the building tallied with the community’s account.
He noted that so far, nobody had come forward to declare anyone missing, adding that his team worked throughout the night to rescue those trapped under the rubble.