At least four people were killed and dozens trapped when a four-storey residential building collapsed in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial city, witnesses said on Wednesday.
The building, consisting of 36 flats, a penthouse and some shops, collapsed at around 7.30pm local time on Tuesday, trapping dozens of people.
Witnesses said most of the victims were occupants who had just returned home from work.
”Four mangled bodies were brought out under the debris of the building last night,” neighbour and witness Debo Ajala told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
”It was a gory sight. I was coming out of my house when I heard a loud bang and the four-storey structure suddenly caved in,” he said.
He said sympathisers and neighbours quickly moved in to rescue people from the rubble but dozens were still trapped there.
An AFP reporter who visited the scene early on Wednesday heard wails and cries from people imprisoned under the debris.
”Please help me, I am dying,” one victim cried out.
Lagos state police spokesperson Bode Ojajuni said the authorities had launched an investigation into the cause of the collapse, the latest in Africa’s most-populous country in recent months.
Police and the Red Cross, who were battling to rescue the injured, declined to give an exact death toll, but said many people were still trapped.
”Many people were brought out alive and taken to hospitals for their injuries,” Red Cross official Monday Udo told AFP.
He said some bodies had been recovered but could not give an exact toll.
”Some bodies were removed and taken to the mortuaries. It is a great disaster. Certainly, more bodies will still be recovered,” he added.
Sulaimon Yusuf, general manager of Lagos state physical planning, described the incident as ”grave”. He said the government was trying to beef up the rescue operation by deploying more men, ambulances and equipment.
”Our main concern is to ensure that more lives are saved by evacuating those who are still trapped to safety,” he said.
He said a caterpillar and crane would be sent in to help the operation.
Police spokesperson Ojajuni also declined to give details of causalities.
”Rescue efforts are still going on. It will be too early to say exactly how many people were killed but quite a large number of people are still trapped under the building,” he said.
Dozens of people have been killed and many more injured in similar incidents in the past months, especially in Lagos, an over-crowded city of about 15-million people.
In March an 18-storey building belonging to the state-run Bank of Industry, suddenly caved, injuring several people.
Building experts have in many instances blamed the collapses on the use of substandard construction materials, disregard for building regulations and non-compliance with the government’s physical planning and development policies. — Sapa-AFP