LASEMA rescues five victims in Lagos collapsed building

The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) has rescued five victims in another collapsed building in Ojuelegba area of Surulere during overnight operation on Thursday.

It will be recalled that a three-storeyed building at Magodo phase 1 and another two-storeyed building at No 7, Rufai street, Ojuelegba collapsed about 12 days ago.

Confirming the new incident to newsmen on Friday in Lagos, The Chief Executive Officer, LASEMA, Dr Oluwafemi Oke-Osanyintolu said the victims were rescued after the building was pulled down to the ground zero about 11 p.m.

Oke-Osanyintolu said the accident occurred at 9.15 p.m, adding that the rescue was in collaboration with the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA).

“The most important thing is that we rescued five people alive while pulling down the building to save lives and property.

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“When we got to the building, we discovered that the building was highly unstable, LASBCA had marked the building on March 25, 2015, and May 21 while the residents and the landlord were warned to vacate their premises.

“We need to perform, urgently, the construction and re-development of that area because of the safety of lives and property.

“We then had to use our sophisticated equipment to check whether people are under the debris. With our equipment, we pulled down the building to the ground zero” The LASEMA Boss said.

Meanwhile, Oke-Osanyintolu urged residents in the state to ensure their buildings were properly maintained, adding that emergency was everybody’s business.