Tragedy as school building collapses in Lagos, many students trapped, dead

There was pandemonium on Wednesday morning after a three-storeyed building collapsed at Ita Faji, Lagos Island with many pupils trapped and some feared dead.

The school was said to be on the last floor.

A resident of the area and eyewitness said no fewer than 10 pupils had been removed from the rubble so far.

“It is terrible. Parents are crying. I can’t withstand the gorry sight,” he added.

The spokesperson for the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, Kehinde Adebayo, confirmed the collapse, adding that emergency officials were already on ground.

According to Kehinde, “the search and rescue operation is presently ongoing with so many victims rescued alive from the collapsed building through combined efforts of LASEMA and other emergency responders such as the Lagos State Ambulance Service, Lagos State Fire Service, Lagos State Building Control Agency, Federal Fire Service.

Others include National Emergency Management Agency, Nigeria Police Force, Rapid Response Squad, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps. Nigeria Red Cross Society, Lagos State Neighborhood and Safety Corps. The exercise is being coordinated by the General Manager Lagos State Emergency Management Agency Mr. Adesina Tiamiyu with the deployment of heavy and light rescue equipment from LASEMA and its stakeholders.”