Swift response to distress calls by the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), yesterday saved the lives of residents, except a five-year-old, when a three-Storey building collapsed at 19, Church Street, on Lagos Island.
It was gathered that the single, yet-to-be identified fatality, was recorded due to a room beam that partially collapsed on a five-year-old boy when the incident occurred.
The distress call which was transmitted at 10:55hrs, 8th July, 2021 through the Toll Free 767/112 Emergency numbers activated the Lagos State Emergency Response Plans that saved the lives of other residents and properties surrounding the affected building.
During his visit to the incident site on Lagos Island, Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of LASEMA, Dr. Olufemi Damilola Oke-Osanyintolu stated: “Situation Report on the Impending Collapsed Building at 19, Church Street, Lagos Island stated that upon arrival at the scene, a room beam partially collapsed on a five-year-old boy, at the aforementioned address.
“Further investigation revealed that the building had been slated for non-integrity test because of visible cracks on the beam and columns of the building, all the tenants had been asked to evacuate the building and also the building had been cordoned off for the safety of residents.”
Asides from the Director-General’s Team, and LASEMA Response Team, the Lagos State Building Control Agency, LABSCA and the Lagos State Safety Commission were also present at the scene to conduct proper assessment of the affected building and sensitisation.
General Manager of LABSCA, Gbolahan Oki, said, initial investigation into the cause of the collapse which occurred late in the night, while residents were asleep, indicated a structural failure of a part of the structure carrying a water tank for the use of the occupants.
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