Yaba building collapse: Rescue operations resume after being called off

Almost 24 hours after a building caved in the Yaba area of Lagos, there are indications that one or two persons might still be trapped in the rubble as family members of the said victims returned to the scene on Sunday morning looking for their loved ones.

This has prompted emergency management officials into making plans to resume the rescue operation after it was called off earlier in the day.

The Director-General of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency LASEMA, Femi Oke Osanyintolu, said emergency workers will continue to comb the rubble to see if anyone could still be brought out alive.

Dolapo Odunekan, a student on industrial training is believed to be one of those at the site when the building collapsed. Dolapo’s family members are still on the ground waiting for the rescue operations to resume. They have called his phone number many times without a response.

Earlier in the day, four persons were confirmed dead in the incident with the Lagos State Government saying the developer has been arrested

In a tweet on its handle, the government explained that was the developer was “arrested for breaking the government seal on the property and violating the stop-work order”.

“The developer in charge of the site has since been arrested and handed over to the RRS Team, while rescue operation is ongoing,” it tweeted on Sunday.

The recent incident is happening about three months after a high-rise collapsed in the Lekki part of the state. Experts say the incessant cases of building collapse in the state are due to lax regulations and sharp practices on the part of the developers. (Channels TV)