Emergency teams are racing against time to free a number of individuals believed to be stuck under the rubble of a collapsed two-storey structure in the Oyingbo district of Lagos State.
The incident happened shortly after midnight on Monday when the building at 54 Cole Street, close to the Cemetery Bus Stop, came crashing down while residents were still inside. Firefighters from the Sari-Iganmu station rushed to the site within minutes of receiving an urgent alert at around 12:20 a.m.
The Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service confirmed that the property had been flagged earlier as unstable, but it gave way unexpectedly, catching those inside off guard. Rescue workers have so far pulled out 15 survivors – seven men, four women, and four children – all suffering from injuries of varying severity. These victims have been rushed to the Federal Medical Centre in Ebute Metta and the General Hospital in Odan on Lagos Island for urgent treatment.
Efforts to reach others trapped beneath the debris continue, with crews working tirelessly amid fears that more lives could be at risk. Officials from the service described the operation as a challenging one, involving a structure that had long shown worrying signs of weakness.
Such heartbreaking events have sadly become all too common in Nigeria, particularly in Lagos, where lax checks on building standards, poor-quality materials, and skipped inspections often lead to disaster. Just last month, a four-storey block under construction in the Yaba area fell, claiming several lives and injuring many more. Back in November 2021, a luxury high-rise in Ikoyi toppled during building work, resulting in at least 42 deaths after probes revealed it had gone beyond approved heights.
