Panic gripped residents of Oyingbo, Lagos, in the early hours of Monday after a two-storey building collapsed at No. 54, Cole Street, near the Cemetery Bus Stop, leaving several people trapped under the rubble.
The building came crashing down shortly after midnight, prompting an immediate response from the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service (LSFRS). The agency said it received a distress call at exactly 12:20 a.m. and firefighters from the Sari Iganmu Fire Station arrived at 12:29 a.m. to begin rescue operations.
Confirming the incident, the Director of the LSFRS, Margaret Adeseye, revealed that 15 victims had so far been pulled out alive — seven men, four women, and four children — all sustaining varying degrees of injuries.
“All rescued persons have been taken to the Federal Medical Centre, Ebute Meta, and the General Hospital, Odan, Lagos Island, for urgent medical attention,” Adeseye said.
Preliminary investigations indicated that the collapsed structure had earlier been marked as distressed but was still being occupied by tenants before it caved in.
Rescue teams from multiple agencies, including the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) and other first responders, are still on-site as efforts continue to locate any remaining victims feared trapped beneath the debris.
Adeseye assured residents that the combined emergency teams remain fully mobilised to ensure every individual is accounted for, adding that the situation is being closely monitored to prevent secondary incidents.
