An 18-year-old boy, simply identified as Matthew, was among the five persons rescued at the site of the three-story building that collapsed on Freeman Street, Lagos Island, on Saturday, as the rescue operation continued yesterday.
It was gathered that four people died in the collapsed building that was undergoing conversion into a three-storey building.
The last survivor, Matthew, who was miraculously rescued from ground zero of the building and rushed to the hospital, was said to have been away from work due to sickness before that Saturday, when he resumed.
Giving an update on the rescue operations, yesterday, Ibrahim Farinloye, zonal coordinator, southwest, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), said five people were rescued.
“The building crumbled during a downpour at about 1:45 pm on Saturday,” he said.
“The building was bequeathed to the family members and some of the family members awarded it to a developer who was converting the bungalow building into a three-storey building before it collapsed.”
Farinloye also said Alayaki lane, where the building is located, contains a cluster of buildings, adding that rescue operations were affected by the lack of space in the area.
It was gathered that the bequeathed property had four families controlling it but when the idea of developing it was suggested to the families, only two of them supported the idea while two others rejected it.
However, the two that were in support approved converting the building to three stories unfortunately a collapse was witnessed on Saturday.
Also, some family members said that Lagos State Buildings Control Agency LABSCA had marked the site for demolition.
