The state administration of Lagos State has mandated that all development projects in the affluent area be put on pause following the collapse of a seven-story structure under construction on First Avenue, in the Banana Island district of Lagos State.
Gbenga Omotoso, the state’s commissioner for information and strategy, explained the procedure in a statement on Thursday. He said the goal was to guarantee that the Lagos State Building Control Agency’s employees conducted a thorough audit.
“The Lagos State Government has launched a probe into the collapse of a seven-story building under construction on Banana Island, Ikoyi, following a directive from Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu,” said the statement.
“Nobody died in the incident, which occurred on Wednesday, as of the time of this report. 25 people were rescued from the site. The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency scanned the building with a high-precision 3-D Laser Imagery System for life and found no evidence of anyone trapped in the rubble.
“A roll call has also been done by the site supervisors, with everyone accounted for. LASEMA has continued with the excavation of the site, using the architectural designs. The site has also been divided into quadrants for a painstaking search and rescue operation. Presently, quadrants 2 and 3 have been levelled to ground zero, having completed the search operation. Quadrants 1 and 4 are ongoing.”
The operation was being directed by Dr. Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, the permanent secretary of LASEMA, while being coordinated by Tayo Bamgbose-Martins, the state commissioner for physical planning and urban development, and Mobolaji Ogunlende, the special duties adviser.
Omotosho said that out of the 25 people who were saved by emergency personnel, 16 victims with moderate injuries were admitted to the General Hospital, Odan, Lagos Island, and the police hospital at Falomo for treatment and care. She noted that the state commissioner for health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, had visited the scene and hospitals where victims of the incident were admitted.
“Nine others with minor injuries, such as bruises, were treated and released at the scene by Lagos State Ambulance Services,” the statement continued. 11 of the 16 patients admitted were brought to the police hospital in Falomo. Eight of the eleven people have received care and been released.
“Some are required to come for daily follow-up and management. Three with various injuries, including blunt traumatic chest injury, knee injuries, deep lacerations and others, are on admission. At the General Hospital Odan, Lagos Island, there are five patients with more serious injuries.
“The state government, as a matter of policy, will be responsible for the emergency treatment and care, including the medical bills of the victims on admission. It will also provide post-trauma counselling support and care for all victims through the Lagos Mental Health in Development programme – a free mental health counselling and support service provided by the ministry of health.”
Omotosho noted that eyewitnesses claimed one of the concrete mixer trucks slammed into some load-bearing columns of the building, generating a loud noise and ultimately triggering the collapse. He claimed that early investigations suggested that the collapse occurred during concrete casting.
“The building was hitherto sealed by the Lagos State Government for not having the approval to commence construction, but the developers continued to build, hiding under the security of their estate/gated community.
“Mr Governor has directed that all developments on Banana Island be placed on hold, subject to a comprehensive audit by the officials of the Lagos State Building Control Agency. This is to determine how many buildings are being constructed without approval from the Lagos State Government; and if all approved buildings are being built in line with the approval limits provided,” the statement said.
Omotoso noted that the exercise would be extended to other estates and gated communities in the state.
However, journalists, during a visit to the scene for a follow-up story, experienced a hectic time gaining access into the estate on Thursday as the estate’s security guards, while reportedly acting on the instruction of the estate management, denied them access, causing them to be stranded for hours.
The estate management was said to have enforced the restriction to prevent hoodlums from infiltrating the estate.
After being given permission to enter the estate, security personnel manning the scene of the building collapse stopped the journalists from entering. Nevertheless, the journalists were allowed entry after a heated debate.
The building, which had been under construction for months, abruptly collapsed on Wednesday at 4:58 p.m., according to Propolitics, as workers were going about their daily tasks inside of it.
several of the construction site workers were lucky enough to escape unharmed, while others suffered varied degrees of injuries. However, several unfortunate individuals ended up trapped beneath the wreckage of the collapsed structure.
