At least eight people, including a baby, have lost their lives, while 26 others were rescued after a three-storey shopping complex collapsed in the Alakija area of Lagos State on Thursday, according to emergency authorities.
The incident occurred around 11:40 a.m. on Old Ojo Road, near Alakija Bus Stop in Satellite Town, with an unknown number of people trapped beneath the rubble when the building gave way.
The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) said that by 4:20 p.m., rescue workers had recovered eight bodies and successfully pulled 26 survivors from the collapsed structure.
LASEMA Permanent Secretary, Damilola Oke-Osanyintolu, said search and rescue operations were still underway to find anyone who might still be trapped.
“The search and rescue operation is still ongoing,” Mr Oke-Osanyintolu noted in an update.
The latest casualty figures were higher than the agency’s initial report, which confirmed that two people had been rescued while the body of an adult male was recovered shortly after emergency officials arrived at the scene.
Oke-Osanyintolu said officials from LASEMA, the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), and other emergency response agencies were deployed to the site.
He added that preliminary information showed several shop owners and other occupants were inside the shopping complex when it collapsed.
“There are reports that additional persons, including shop owners who had resumed business activities in the complex, may still be trapped,” he said earlier.
