Nine persons were rescued on Monday from a sinking one-storey building in the Maryland area of Lagos.
This is contained in a statement by the Territorial Coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Ibrahim Farinloye,
The agency said, “NEMA received a distressed alert on a sinking storey building where nine people are said to be trapped. The building is located at 47 Akinwunmi street, Akinwunmi North, Estate Mende, Maryland, Ikeja.
“All nine trapped ladies have been successfully rescued.”
The victims were mostly ladies, according to one of the rescued persons simply identified as Ms Blessing.
The landlord of the building had used a ladder to escape but NEMA questioned him for failure to contact emergency responders instead of one of the trapped victim’s office contacting the agency.
“The landlord just returned to the scene and he has been handed over to the Police for leaving the vulnerable ladies. About 35 buildings on Akinwumi Estate, 31 buildings on Arowojobe Estate, and Ebun Otti Estate are seriously impacted,” Farinloye said.
Other agencies who were on the ground include the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA); the State Fire Service, and Police Disaster Management Unit.