…16 Rescued, One Dead in Alakija Collapse
By Our Reporter
Sixteen people have been pulled alive from the rubble of a three-storey building that collapsed in the Alakija area of Lagos State on Thursday, even as one person was confirmed dead and several others remained feared trapped.
The building came down at about 11:40 a.m. on Old Ojo Road, near Alakija Bus Stop, off the Lagos-Badagry Expressway in Satellite Town, Ori-Ade Local Council Development Area.
The Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service said it received a distress call about the incident at 11:37 a.m. and dispatched personnel from the Ijegun-Egba Fire Station, who arrived within minutes to begin search and rescue operations.
Director of the service, Mrs Margaret Adeseye, confirmed that the rescued occupants sustained varying degrees of injuries and were handed over to medical personnel for treatment.
LASEMA Permanent Secretary, Dr Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, said the agency had activated a coordinated emergency response, with teams working to locate and extricate anyone still trapped beneath the debris.
An eyewitness, Musa, who was riding past the scene on a motorcycle, recalled the moment of the collapse: “I suddenly heard noise behind me.” Other residents at the scene claimed the structure had previously been marked by the state government for evacuation over safety concerns.
The rescue operation has drawn a multi-agency response, including the Federal Fire Service, Nigeria Police Force, Nigerian Navy, Lagos Neighbourhood Safety Corps and the Nigerian Red Cross Society. Casualties and survivors have been taken to Navy Town Hospital, Alakija.
Authorities say the cause of the collapse is yet to be determined, with investigations expected once rescue operations conclude.
