By John Ogunsemore
A man has been confirmed dead at the scene of the three-storey building that collapsed in the Ojodu-Berger area of Lagos State on Saturday.
Director, Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, Margaret Adeseye confirmed the development in a statement sent to Daily Sun by Head, Public Education of the service, Amodu Shakiru.
Adeseye disclosed that the deceased victim has been handed over to the Lagos State Environmental Monitoring Unit.
The fire chief further stated that 10 men were rescued alive with varying degrees of injuries and attended to at the scene before being transferred to the Lagos State Accident and Trauma Centre for further treatment by the Lagos State Ambulance Service (LASAMBUS).
The incident occurred at 9:05 am at 14, Oremeta Street, Ojodu Road, Berger.
According to the service, the ground floor of the affected three-storey building was occupied by an eatery, a bar and a parking lot.
The other floors were said to be unoccupied, with ongoing repair works, when the building suddenly caved in.
“While the root cause of the collapse is being investigated, it is however, succinct to note that unoccupied buildings are susceptible to collapse due to lack of maintenance, neglect, abandonment, environmental factors leading to unattended structural defects, among others,” Adeseye said.
She added that recovery operations were still ongoing to get to ground zero as all occupants have been accounted for with further danger averted.
The Alausa Fire Station of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Corps (LNSC), and Lagos State Ambulance Service (LASAMBUS), Lagos State Environmental Monitoring Unit, Lagos State Transport Management Agency (LAMATA), Nigerian Police, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Nigerian Civil Defence Corps and the Red Cross were at the scene.