The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has said that the death toll from the collapsed high-rise building in Ikoyi, Lagos has increased to 36.
The Acting Coordinator of the Lagos Territorial Office of the NEMA, Mr Ibrahim Farinloye told journalists in Lagos on Thursday that “so far, 36 people – 33 males and three females have been confirmed dead, while there were nine survivors”, as at Thursday morning.
He said that the survivors included one female and eight males.
According to local media reports, rescue operations in the rubble of the 21-storey building which collapsed on Monday afternoon, trapping dozens of people is still ongoing.
Meanwhile, the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said on Wednesday when he visited the site that a panel of inquiry had been set up on the incident and promised that those found culpable after investigations by the panel, would be punished.
Although the governor could not say what caused the collapse of the building under construction, but he stated that there were obvious violations and “mistakes from all angles” in the tragedy.
The incidence of collapsed buildings are becoming commonplace in Nigeria’s commercial capital city of Lagos and experts have often blamed the use of quacks and substandard materials in the construction industry in the country.
GIK/APA