Ebute-Meta building collapse: Death toll rises to 10, 23 rescued .

 Ibrahim Quadri

The death toll at the collapsed Ebute-Meta three-storey building has risen to ten.

Mr. Ibrahim Farinloye, Southwest Zonal Coordinator, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Lagos that the eight dead persons include five males and three females.

An old three-Storey building collapsed at N0 24 Ibadan Street, off Herbert Macaulay Way, Ebute-Meta on Sunday night at about 10.56 p.m.

NAN also reports that 23 occupants of the building were rescued.

However, rescue operations were ongoing at the site of the incident in search of occupants still trapped under the rubble.

Meanwhile, officials of the Lagos State Building Collapse Agency have begun the evaluation of occupants of a three-storey building showing serious signs of distress in the same Ebute Metta, Mr. Farinloye told NAN on Monday in Lagos.

Farinloye said though the building had not collapsed, evacuation was ongoing to save lives and property.

According to him, the building is located at No.100 Lagos Street, about 200 metres away from the earlier collapsed three-storey building at 32, Ibadan Street, Ebute Metta, Lagos.

“The building has shown signs of serious distress, with a part of it falling off.

“The building had earlier been marked as distressed but the occupants were deviant in leaving the premises,” Farinloye said.

Meanwhile, The landlord’s son, in whose care the collapsed three-storey building in the Ebute Metta area of Lagos State was entrusted, said he gave the occupants of the building quit notice when he discovered the visible stress on it.

The caretaker told emergency responders and newsmen in Lagos on Monday that he was living in the building with other occupants when he noticed signs of distress.

He noted that he later left the building and rented an apartment in the same vicinity.

The caretaker added that the quit notice was handed over to the occupants which they failed to adhere to.

He said he had not collected rental fees from the tenants for a long time since he had expected them to pack out.

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) had earlier disclosed that the death toll from the three-storey building which collapsed on Sunday about 10:56 p.m had risen to eight.

The Zonal Coordinator South-West, NEMA, Mr. Ibrahim Farinloye, disclosed that the deceased persons included five males and three females, adding that 23 people were rescued alive.

He noted that rescue operations were ongoing at the site of the incident in search of occupants trapped under the rubble.