One person has been killed while two others were rescued after a two-storey building undergoing manual demolition collapsed in the Aboru area of Lagos State.
The incident occurred at about 12:56am on Thursday at No. 42, Governors Road, Aboru, in the Alimosho Local Government Area of the state.
The Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday.
He said the agency’s Alpha Eagle Response Team was immediately deployed to the scene after receiving a distress call.
According to him, preliminary investigations revealed that the building collapsed while workers were carrying out manual demolition activities.
“On arrival, first responders confirmed that the structure had collapsed during demolition activities, with workers trapped under the debris,” Oke-Osanyintolu said.
He added that LASEMA activated the state’s Emergency Response Plan and assumed control of the rescue operation while coordinating other emergency responders at the scene.
Oke-Osanyintolu said two adult males were successfully rescued alive from the rubble.
He said personnel of the Lagos State Ambulance Service, LASAMBUS, administered first aid to the rescued victims before they were transported to a nearby health facility for further treatment.
“Through a coordinated search and rescue operation, two adult males were extricated alive from the rubble and were promptly administered life-saving first aid by personnel of the Lagos State Ambulance Service, LASAMBUS, before being moved to a nearby health facility for further medical attention,” he said.
The emergency agency, however, recovered the body of another adult male from beneath the collapsed structure.
“Sadly, one adult male was recovered dead from beneath the collapsed structure. The agency commiserates with the family of the deceased and prays for the quick recovery of the injured,” the permanent secretary added.
The rescue operation was jointly carried out by LASEMA, the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service and LASAMBUS.
The area was also cordoned off to protect residents and provide a safe working environment for emergency personnel involved in the operation.
Oke-Osanyintolu urged residents, property owners and developers to comply strictly with building regulations and ensure that demolition and construction activities are handled by certified professionals.
He also called on residents to report suspicious or unsafe building activities to the emergency agency through the 767 or 112 toll-free emergency numbers.
He said the Lagos State Government remained committed to strengthening emergency response across the state, including the decentralisation of response units to achieve a 10-minute response time.
