Chiemelie Ezeobi
the site on Monday, it was with the hope of getting my money. Initially when we started the work, we were paid N3,000 daily but later it was changed to N3,500 weekly. Now, I didn’t just get my money, I also have a wound on the head to show for it.”
The construction of the five-storey building, which is one of the two buildings undergoing construction in the same compound, started about four months ago and each of these structures had 30 flats. THISDAY gathered that the building collapsed at about 4.30am, following a heavy thunderstorm, accompanied by a heavy downpour.
Similar to the collapse of the guest house of the Synagogue Church of All Nations, the five-storey building belonging to Lekki Gardens fell like a pile of badly stacked cards and, on the first day being Tuesday, no fewer than 15 persons, including a woman, her baby and 13 adults were killed.
At the same time, 12 persons were rescued but with varying degree of injuries, even as scores were still feared trapped under the debris. That same Tuesday afternoon, the casualty rate was 15, which was the total figure of deceased persons brought out from the debris of the collapsed building as at 4.41pm.
Immediately news of the incident filtered out, emergency responders drawn from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Federal and State Fire Service, the Police stormed the area. The emergency workers with the help of local rescue team, were at first able to recover one body and rescued four survivors from the debris at 7.30 am.
At 7.49 am, two more bodies were brought out, even as the figure of survivors remained at four. At 8.08 am, another dead body was brought out, and another rescued, increasing the casualty and survivors rate to four and five respectively. Another person was rescued at about 8.48am, and at about 1.11am, the total figure of casualties and survivors remained at seven each.
The figure later stood at eight survivors and seven dead as at 1.20pm and later rose to nine