It was a black Monday in Lagos yesterday, as a 21-storey building under construction on Gerard Road, Ikoyi, Lagos , collapsed, burying an unspecified number of persons under the rubble.
However, it came to light at press time yesterday that the developers of the building project ignored advice from consultants. The original plan was for 15 floors.
As of 5pm, four persons, all males, were brought out dead, while six others were rescued alive. Both the dead and those rescued were workers at the site.
Tragedy struck at about 2pm as work progressed on the building. Some of the workers were said to be taking a nap when the building collapsed.
Among those trapped was a food vendor and her nine-year-old daughter said to have arrived the scene less than five minutes before the building caved in.
At press time last night, it could not be ascertained if one of the foremost Nigeria estate developers, Mr. Femi Osibona, who was in the building at the time of collapse, died in the rubble. He was yet to be rescued.
The developer was reportedly on a visit to the site when the collapse occurred. Osibona, the Managing Director of Four Score Properties, was the builder of 360 Degrees Towers in Ikoyi.