The Lagos Banana Island seven-storey building, still under construction, was brought down by a truck which rammed into it, Lagos State Government officials said on Thursday.
The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) which made the startling revelation, however, said no life was lost in the collapsed building at 1st Avenue in the highbrow Banana Island of Ikoyi on Wednesday.
Persecondnews reports that a horde of reporters had massed at the estate’s gate and were denied access to the site by the authorities.
The reporters and photojournalists said they had put calls through to the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Gbenga Omotoso, LASEMA and the Commissioner for Physical Planning for their intervention but to no avail.
An official who addressed journalists at the gate cited “security and safety concerns” and said the estate Public Relations Officer will come and address them as he insisted that they were not to be allowed in.
LASEMA, in a statement, said the building, under construction, collapsed, after a truck rammed into it.
”Situation report on the collapsed building at 1st Avenue, Banana Island, Ikoyi
“Upon arrival of the LASEMA Response Team at the scene of the incident, a six storey building under construction was found to have collapsed.
“Information gathered revealed that the building collapsed as a result of a truck that ran into the building.
“Fortunately, no loss of life, however, efforts are ongoing to reconstruct the building to ground zero so as to forestall any secondary incident. Recovery operations ongoing,” it said.
On its part, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) confirmed that the emergency response was able to rescue seven people alive while one person was rushed to a private hospital for treatment.
The Lagos Territorial Coordinator of the agency, Mr Ibrahim Farinloye while briefing newsmen on Thursday said:”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 the only one that was taken to a private hospital where he is receiving adequate treatment.”
He said the agency would carry out “holistic investigation” into the incident while also promising”a thorough appraisal of other buildings at the construction site.”
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