At least 15 persons have been rescued after a two-storey building collapsed in the early hours of Monday at No. 54 Cole Street, Cemetery Bus Stop, Oyingbo area of Lagos State.
The building, which had earlier been marked as distressed, reportedly caved in around 12:20 a.m. on Monday, throwing the neighbourhood into panic as residents rushed to the scene.
Emergency responders, including officials of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), and other agencies, were still conducting search and rescue operations as of the time of filing this report.
Confirming the incident, the Controller General of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, Margaret Adeseye, said 15 persons had been rescued from the rubble with various degrees of injuries.
“It is an ongoing rescue involving an existing two-storey building which had reportedly been marked as distressed before collapsing on the occupants,” she said.
“So far, 15 people—seven adult males, four adult females, and four children—have been rescued with varying degrees of injuries.”
Adeseye said the injured victims had been taken to the Federal Medical Centre, Ebute Meta, and the General Hospital, Odan, Lagos Island, for medical attention.
As of 6:00 a.m., no fatalities had been confirmed, though more people were feared trapped under the debris.
Emergency workers, supported by residents and volunteers, continued digging through the rubble in search of survivors.
An eyewitness told Iwitnesslive that the collapse caused panic in the area, as several residents and sympathisers joined hands with rescue teams to clear the wreckage.
“We heard a loud noise around midnight. People started shouting and calling for help. The rescue teams came quickly, but some people are still trapped,” the witness said.
Sources said the building had been marked for evacuation by the relevant authorities months earlier due to structural defects, but some occupants allegedly ignored the warning.
The cause of the collapse has not yet been officially confirmed, but authorities suspect structural weakness and poor maintenance.
Officials of the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) and other emergency responders have cordoned off the area to prevent further casualties.
As of press time, rescue operations were still ongoing.
