Banana Island building: ‘Cause of collapse is yet to be determined,’ says Lagos Govt

Lagos Government, Saturday, said the cause of the collapse of a seven-storey building located at 1st Avenue, Banana Island, Ikoyi, is yet to be determined, three days after the incident.

Providing an update on the incident which occurred, last Wednesday, the Lagos Commissioner for Information & Strategy, Mr Gbenga Omotoso, disclosed that rescue operations by personnel of the state’s Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) were still on at the site of the collapsed building as they search for survivors.

So far, one dead body has been discovered buried inside the rubble, as a total of 25 people were rescued from the site.

“Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) officials are still at work on the site of the building that collapsed at Banana Island on Wednesday.

“The rubble is being excavated and taken to another area within the compound.

“At the site are Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) and Lagos State Materials Testing Laboratory.

“The cause of the collapse is yet to be determined. Unfortunately, we have recorded one fatality so far.

All those injured and taken to hospitals are doing well,” the commissioner said.

It would be recalled that, providing update on the incident, Friday, the commissioner disclosed of rescue workers discovering one dead from the rubble of the collapsed building.

“One body has been recovered from the rubble of the collapsed building at 1st Avenue, Banana Island, Ikoyi.

“Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) workers’ search and recovery efforts unearthed the remains of the adult male hitherto unaccounted for by site supervisors.

“The excavation of the site, using the architectural designs, continues. The site has been divided into quadrants for a painstaking search and rescue operation. Quadrants 2 and 3 have been levelled to ground zero, with the search operation completed. Quadrant 4 is ongoing.

‘Twenty-five people were rescued from the site when the building went down on Wednesday. They are all doing fine.

“When a roll call was done by the site supervisors, everyone was accounted for. Nobody could ascertain whether the victim whose body was found this morning was on the site – as of the time the roll call was taken,” the commissioner had said.

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) had confirmed, last Thursday, that it rescued seven persons from a building which collapsed, Wednesday, on the Banana Island area of Ikoyi, in Lagos.

The seven-storey building under construction collapsed last Wednesday, trapping some workers at the construction site.

Providing an update on the incident, Thursday, the Lagos Territorial Coordinator of NEMA, Ibrahim Farinloye, said apart from the rescued victims, one person was rushed to a hospital where he is being treated.

“We started moving from one layer to another and during this emergency response, we were able to rescue seven people alive.

“Those people that were rescued were treated on the spot and discharged. It is only one that was taken to a private hospital where he is receiving adequate treatment,” he disclosed.

The NEMA chief hailed the emergency responders for their swiftness, assuring that the agency won’t leave any stone unturned to ensure that “nobody is left there and the job is being done professionally”.

For other buildings on the construction site, Farinloye said “we are going to carry out holistic investigations” about them.

The state government, disclosed immediately, last Wednesday, that it had commenced investigations into the incident.

“The Lagos State government has swung into action. We are ensuring that some tests will be done by some engineers,” the Special Adviser to the Governor on Special Duties, Mobolaji Obelende, told reporters at the site.

“We have all our agencies here – LASBCA, Ministry of Physical Planning, and others – doing what they are supposed to do professionally.

“Once that is done, we would be able to ascertain the current status and the next step would be taken,” he added.

The incident is the latest in a series of building collapses in Lagos and other parts of the country.

It would be recalled that in March, this year, the State Government, through the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), issued a final notice to owners ahead of a planned demolition of a total of 349 defective and distressed buildings.

The agency said the final notice on the affected buildings is for their owners to conduct the Non-Destructive Test (NDT) ‘and carry out the recommendations of the Test which may include re-engineering/renovation or removal as the case may be.’