One Person Dies In Fresh Building Collapse In Lagos, Southwest Nigeria

One casualty has been recorded at a scene of a building collapse in Lagos on Wednesday evening.

It was learnt that a storey building located at number 12 Aromire Avenue, opposite Dominos Pizza, Ikeja, suddenly collapsed around 6.45 pm on Wednesday.

The incident was confirmed by the Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA, Dr Femi Oke-Osanyintolu to newsmen, adding that the collapsed building was under construction when it partially collapsed.

He said, “The agency responded to distress calls and upon arrival, discovered that a storey building formerly occupied by KUMS MART, was being worked on by unskilled labourers resulting in a partial collapse.

“An adult male reported to be a welder lost his life instantly at the scene. His remains were recovered and removed from the scene.

“Post-disaster assessment conducted by the agency’s Response Team, LRT, indicates that the building is stable and does not pose a threat to other buildings around.”

The building has been cordoned off and officials of the Lagos State Building and Control Agency, LASBCA and Nigeria Police have been contacted for further action.” he added.

Building collapse has been happening at an alarming rate in many major cities in Nigeria.

In Lagos alone, there were 115 incidents of building collapse within the last 10 years, according to data sourced from the state branch of the Building Collapse Prevention Guild.

It was learned that 2020 and 2022 recorded the highest number of building collapse incidents in the last decade, each with 20 different cases.

This was closely followed by 2019 and 2013, which recorded 17 and 16 different cases respectively.

The years 2016 and 2018 had the fewest cases of building collapse incidents, with a total of three incidents recorded in the two years.

While a number of building collapse incidents resulted in no fatalities, others saw scores of people perish beneath the rubble, most notably the November 1, 2021 collapse of a 21-story building on Gerard Road in Ikoyi.

-sahara reporters