One person has been killed and two others rescued alive after a two-storey building undergoing manual demolition collapsed at No. 42, Governors Road, Aboru, in the Alimosho area of Lagos State, in the early hours of Thursday, September 10.
The collapse triggered a multi-agency emergency operation led by LASEMA, after its Alpha Eagle Response Team was dispatched from the Cappa, Oshodi Response Unit at 12:56 a.m.
Two adult males were pulled alive from beneath the rubble and given emergency treatment, while another adult male was recovered dead as rescuers searched through the debris.
LASEMA has renewed its warning over unsafe demolition and construction practices, urging developers and residents to comply with building regulations and engage certified professionals.
September 10, (THEWILL) – A demolition exercise turned deadly in Lagos State in the early hours of Thursday when a two-storey building being manually pulled down suddenly collapsed, killing one person and trapping workers beneath the rubble.
The incident occurred at No. 42, Governors Road, Aboru, in the Alimosho area of the state, prompting an immediate emergency response by the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) and other emergency agencies.
LASEMA said its Alpha Eagle Response Team was dispatched from the Cappa, Oshodi LASEMA Response Unit at 12:56 a.m. after receiving a distress call concerning the collapse.
The agency said the response team arrived at the scene within the projected response time and found that the structure had collapsed during demolition activities, with workers trapped underneath.
“Preliminary findings indicate that the building was being manually demolished when the collapse occurred”, LASEMA said.
Following its arrival, LASEMA activated the State’s Emergency Response Plan and assumed incident command, coordinating the search and rescue operation with other agencies.
Two Rescued Alive
The coordinated rescue operation led to the successful extrication of two adult males from beneath the collapsed structure.
According to LASEMA, the two survivors were immediately attended to by personnel of the Lagos State Ambulance Service (LASAMBUS), who administered life-saving first aid at the scene before transferring them to a nearby health facility for further medical attention.
However, the rescue operation also recorded a fatality.
“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 agency said.
LASEMA said the affected area had been cordoned off to prevent members of the public from entering the danger zone and to give emergency responders unhindered access to the site.
The Permanent Secretary of LASEMA, Dr Olufemi Damilola Oke-Osanyintolu, reiterated the Lagos State Government’s commitment to protecting lives and property. He urged members of the public and developers to comply strictly with building regulations and engage only certified professionals for demolition and construction activities.
Oke-Osanyintolu also called on residents to promptly alert emergency authorities whenever they observe suspicious or potentially dangerous building activities.
“Any suspicious or unsafe building activity should be reported immediately to the Agency through the 767 and 112 toll-free emergency numbers”, he stated.
LASEMA said the Lagos State Government would continue to invest in capacity building, emergency equipment and the decentralisation of response units across the state.
The agency said the measures were aimed at improving emergency response and guaranteeing a 10-minute response time across Lagos.
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