The collapse of a 21-storey building in Lagos State has caused panic around the Ikoyi area with scores said to be still trapped.
The building, located in the affluent neighbourhood, is a construction site for luxury apartments.
Deputy Governor, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, has visited the scene, promising that rescue operation will begin in earnest.
The Director-General of Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, Dr Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, noted that heavy-duty equipment and life detection equipment have been deployed to the scene.
While giving an update, Oke-Osanyintolu said, “Collapsed Building at Gerard Road, Ikoyi: The agency has activated its emergency response plan to the above incident.
“All first responders are en route to secure the scene while the heavy-duty equipment and life detection equipment have been dispatched.”
According to reports, three corpses have been evacuated from the ill-fated site.
Building collapses has become a relatively common occurrence in the country’s commercial capital.
In 2019, the collapse of two separate structures, including one housing a school, left dozens of people dead.
But according to a letter sighted by our correspondent, the recent episode would have been averted had the project owners followed the advice of a structural consultancy service firm.
According to the letter dated 20th February 2020, Prowess Engineering Limited had raised an alarm over the “concrete strength” of the building.
The letter signed by its Managing Director, Muritala Olawale, further said the first four floors passed its integrity test as it noted that the stipulated specifications were met in terms of the required concrete strength.
However, the firm withdrew from the project as it feared that its client no longer share same vision in terms of how the project was being executed.
“This letter is to formally inform you of the withdrawal of our structural consultancy service from the above-named project. We arrived at this decision because we no longer share the same vision with you as our client in terms of how the project is being executed,” the letter said.
“We can guarantee the integrity of the first two buildings and also works done up to the fourth floor of the third building supervised by us provided specifications have been met in terms of the required concrete strength. This we do not have control over as we do not have the concrete cube test results for each stage of the building to date.
“Also, kindly note that we are not taking responsibility for any other construction errors that may have occurred overtime on the project.
“Furthermore, we request that our company’s name and logo be removed from the project board and also kindly notify all necessary approving authorities of our withdrawal from the project.
“We regret this decision and the lost opportunity to do business together. We look forward to future cooperation in other projects.”
There has not been any formal reaction from FourScore Heights Limited, the owners of the project.
