Tragedy struck on Thursday morning when a yet-to-be-identified woman said to be 80 years old died as the staircase of a storey building caved in at number 34 Oloto Street, Borno Way, off Freeman Street, Oyingbo, Lagos Mainland Local Government Area of the state.
The yet-to-be-identified woman died on the spot as a result of the impact suffered when the building collapsed on her.
The Lagos State Building Control Agency while condoling with the victims of the collapsed building blamed the non-compliance on the vacation notice on the part of occupants of the building.
A source in the area said the building was an old building and needed to be vacated for repairs.
The source in the neighbourhood said the incident happened at about 8: am on Thursday.
“It was really bound to happen. The building is old. The occupants needed to vacate the building to allow renovation. Maybe, this may not have happened,” the source said.
“It was unfortunate. Everyone was scared when the incident happened. We were running helter-skelter hoping that more people were not affected,” the eyewitness added.
Meanwhile, the Permanent Secretary of Lagos State Emergency Management Authority, LASEMA, Dr Femi Oke-Osanyitolu, confirmed the casualty, saying no record of further injury in the unfortunate incident.
According to him, “Further information gathered at the incident scene revealed that an internal suspended beam in a room collapsed at about 7:45 am due to the ageing and lack of maintenance of the structure.
“Unfortunately, an old woman died from the impact of the partial collapse.”
Meanwhile, as of press time,10. am, a search and rescue operation was ongoing by the joint rescue team, while the scene has been cordoned off.
Officials of the LASEMA Response Team, LRU, paramedics, Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service and Lagos Ambulance Service, LASAMBUS, are on the ground to ensure safety and sanity.
“The building has been cordoned off and LABCA has been contacted for further action,” Oke-Osanyintolu stated.
