A 21-story skyscraper under construction collapsed just before 3 p.m. Monday in Lagos, the economic capital of Nigeria. Dozens of workers were on the site. At least four of them have lost their lives and four others have so far been released alive, said Ibrahim Farinloyer of the National Emergency Management Agency (Nema). The latter indicates that operations are still in progress to try to find dozens of workers still stuck under the rubble.
Around the mountain of rubble more than ten meters high, workers, their skin covered with dust, wandered in fright, their eyes haggard. At least five of them said more than 40 people were working in the building when it collapsed.
“I saw five dead bodies”
“I was working downstairs, that’s why I saved my life,” said Taiwo Sule, 21, her voice still shaking. “I climbed on the rubble heap and saw five dead bodies, we tried to carry them, but we were brought down. Look at my hands, they are full of blood, ”says the young man in anger, his red palms turned towards the sky.
Peter Ajagbe, a 26-year-old worker, his body gray with dust, claims to have “seen at least ten bodies” on the mountain of rubble. “One of my colleagues is dead. Those with whom I was having lunch again this morning are dead, ”he said in despair.
A traffic jam prevented help from arriving
A little further on, a crowd of several hundred people gathered around the construction site. Some launching to the few authorities present on the spot: “But where is the help? Why is it taking so long? “. At least two hours after the collapse, a huge traffic jam prevented the emergency services and the teams responsible for clearing the rubble from accessing the site. Only a few ambulances were visible, where two injured were receiving first aid.
Around 5 p.m. local time, a small excavator had finally reached the site and was struggling to remove the first rubble. Dozens of soldiers had been deployed to calm and keep the crowd away for security reasons. Around the mountain of rubble, two buildings under construction, similar to the one that collapsed, still stand.
Building collapses common in Nigeria
On site, the police said they did not yet know the cause of the collapse. Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu announced the opening of an investigation and called for calm late Monday, as rescue operations continued after dark. Emergency services are “on site, and fighting to save the lives of those under the rubble,” Gbenga Omotoso, spokesperson for the governor, said in a statement.
Building collapses are a frequent tragedy in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, where millions of people live in dilapidated buildings and construction laws are routinely flouted.
A few tens of meters from the collapsed building, several workers continued to work, as if nothing had happened, on neighboring construction sites, where luxury buildings will soon emerge from the ground. All on simple bamboo scaffolding, without any protective equipment. Some workers, in flip-flops, seem barely out of adolescence.