Five persons were yesterday confirmed dead, seven injured after a 22-storey building under construction collapsed at Gerrard Road, Ikoyi, Lagos.
Eyewitnesses said many were still trapped in the rubble as at 9pm yesterday.
Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has ordered an investigation into the incident.
A relative of one of the trapped victims cried for help to rescue his brother, Wale, whose phone, he said, was still ringing.
A driver said his boss who was billed to return to the United States was also trapped in the rubble.
Crying beside the victim’s car, the driver said his boss came to see someone in the building before it collapsed.
The Nation learnt that the state government ordered stop of work at the site last year and sealed the building to “prevent calamity”.
A statement by Commissioner for Information and Strategy Gbenga Omotoso said the state government called for calm over the collapse building.
He said Lagos Rescue Unit (LRU), Fire Service and Lagos State Ambulance Services (LASAMBUS) were on the site battling to rescue those under the rubble.
Governor Sanwo-Olu, he said, has ordered an investigation into the incident.
Omotoso said: “The Deputy Governor, Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, has visited the site in the company of other officials, including the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr. Idris Salako; his Special Duties counterpart, Mr. Bamgbose-Martins; Special Adviser on Urban Development Ganiyu Adele Ayuba; Special Adviser, GIS and Physical Planning, Dr. Olajide Babatunde; Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, Mrs. Abiola Kosegbe as well as General Manager, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) Dr. Femi Oke-Osanyintolu.
The Deputy Governor directed security agents to cordon off the site to facilitate rescue efforts. The General Manager of the Lagos State Building Control Agency, Arch. Gbolahan Oki, was also at the scene assessing the site for any likely damage to the surrounding structures.”
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Police Commissioner Hakeem Odumosu said immediately the information got to the police, all rescue agencies in the state were notified and they moved to the site.
“So far, about three people have been rescued alive and about five have lost their lives,” he said.
Odumosu said the number of persons trapped cannot be ascertained until the operation was concluded.
He said: “The governor has asked for more apparatus from other agencies to come in now to assist. At the moment, we cannot ascertain who the victims are which will give us the opportunity to locate their families. All agencies are here on ground now. We call for patience so that this job can be done and casualties reduced to barest minimum. That is why we are controlling crowd here.
“We are not leaving until we get to ground zero to make sure that no human being is there again. At the end of the day, we will get those in charge, the supervisors and through them we will have the figures of those on site but for now, what we are after is to rescue the lives of those that are there,” he said.
“If I am not mistaken, about 40 to 50 people were in the building before it collpased,” a resident said.
President Muhammadu Buhari commiserated with families of the victims of the building collapse.
According to a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity Femi Adesina, President Buhari expressed his solidarity with the government and people of Lagos State, urging the appropriate authorities to intensify rescue efforts.
“President Muhammadu Buhari commiserates with families who have lost loved ones in the building collapse, while some are still trapped.
“President Buhari shares the sad moment with people and Government of Lagos State, urging authorities to step up efforts in rescue operations, while emergency institutions, including hospitals, should provide all the necessary support to safeguard lives of the rescued.”