No fewer than four people, including children, were feared dead on Tuesday after a three-storey building collapsed in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.
Three other victims were also reportedly receiving treatment at the General Hospital, Ilorin, with their conditions described as critical at the time of filing this report.
However, the Kwara State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) officially confirmed four deaths and the rescue of four other victims from the rubble.
The incident occurred at about 5:30 a.m. at Oke-Oyan, in the Popo Giwa area of Ilorin, when the 30-room building suddenly caved in, trapping several occupants underneath the debris.
Eyewitnesses said volunteers involved in the rescue operation recovered the bodies of a mother and her son from the rubble.
Abdulkareem Ayinla Jekidero, the head of the family that owns the property, said he and his siblings, including stepbrothers and stepsisters, inherited the structure, which he said was more than 60 years old.
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Jekidero recalled that the building collapsed shortly after he and others returned from the Subhi (morning) prayer.
“We just returned from Subhi prayer when I heard a loud noise. I sent someone to check what the noise was about. When he returned, he told me that the building behind had collapsed. I couldn’t believe it,” he said.
Describing the incident as disheartening, Jekidero appealed to public-spirited individuals and organisations to assist the affected families.
A rescuer, Abdulazeez, said more lives might have been saved if the youths involved in the operation had received training in building-collapse rescue.
He said that lack of experience initially led some of the volunteers to unknowingly heap debris over areas where victims were trapped.
“We were removing debris and unknowingly heaping them even on some of the trapped tenants. We became aware when we moved to the spot to lift the debris. By then, some had died,” he said.
He added that some of the victims did not die immediately but later succumbed to their injuries at the hospital.
Magaji Saadudeen, SEMA Secretary, confirmed the death of four people and the rescue of four others.
He said eight people were trapped in the building, adding that the rescued victims and bodies of those who died had been taken to the hospital.
“The rescued persons are receiving treatment presently,” Saadudeen said.
Hassan Adekunle, Public Relations Officer of the Kwara State Fire Service, also confirmed that four people were recovered dead while four others were rescued alive.
Adekunle explained that the agency received a distress call at about 5 a.m. reporting that a building had collapsed and several people were trapped underneath.
“We immediately mobilised to the scene and commenced rescue operations. This kind of situation is not something the fire service can handle alone,” he said.
He added that officials of the Hospitals Management Board, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and other emergency agencies joined the rescue operation.
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