Many persons were feared dead after a 21-storey building under construction in the Ikoyi area of Lagos caved in on a tragic Monday afternoon.
The building which is located off Alexander way, Gerrard Road in Ikoyi, collapsed at about 2 pm while scores of construction workers, said to be no fewer than 50 were working on site.
Already, about seven bodies have been reportedly evacuated from the scene of the disaster, while three persons were rescued and rushed to the hospital, The New Diplomat learnt.
Eyewitness reports claim the building owner and some of his family members were inside the building as at the time it went down abruptly.
The spokesperson for the Lagos State Emergency Agency, Nosa Okunbo, who confirmed the incident said the operatives of the agency have been deployed to the affected building.
“The Agency has activated its emergency response plan to the scene. Search and Rescue operations ongoing,” LASEMA said in a statement.
“The Hon. Commissioner for Special Duties & Intergovernmental Relations, it’s counterpart, Hon. Comm for Physical Planning and DG LASEMA are fully on ground.
“All first responders are at the scene while the heavy duty equipment and life detection equipment have been dispatched,” Okubo said in a statement.
South West Coordinator of the NEMA, Mr Ibrahim Farinloye, who spoke with the members of the press also confirmed that scores of people were trapped in the building during the incident.
He also noted that the three persons persons have been rescued from the rubble of the collapsed building and have been taken to hospital to receive medical attention.
As of the time of this reporting, rescue operation is still ongoing as scores of persons trapped inside the rubbles of the collapsed 21-storey building have continued to call for help, with many petrified victims of the collapse screaming and calling friends and family members on phone, according to eyewitness reports.
