More details have emerged concerning the collapse of a 5 story building owned by the Synagogue Church of All Nations in Ikotun.
According to residents of the area, the building which collapsed was initially a 2 story building, until the Church decided to add three more floors.
One resident said he felt a vibration at about 12:45 Friday, shortly after he was told a building had collapsed.
Rescue workers with the National and Lagos State Emergency Management Agencies have so far been able to pull out between 20 to 50 dead bodies from the site, according to eye witnesses.
One of the dead includes a foreigner said to be about 10 years old.
National Emergency Management Agency spokesman, Ibrahim Farinloye said, “We have recovered three dead bodies and a child of about 10 years was among them. The others were adults and one of them had his leg chopped off. Before we arrived at the scene, 15 persons had been rescued alive and taken to the hospital. But there are people still trapped in the building and rescue efforts are still ongoing.”
He added, “The building was under construction; it was initially a two-storey building but they were adding three floors to it and I think that was what led to the collapse. I think it was the construction that caused the problem.”
The GM of Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, Dr. Femi Oke-Osanyintolu said, “We have cordoned off the area and we have been able to recover 15 bodies and 20 casualties and they have been taken to the hospitals, including the General Hospital, Alimosho, but I can’t tell you the number of the dead right now. There were foreigners among the dead and those that were rescued but I didn’t count how many they were.”
Farinloye also said that church members who tried to downplay the incident attacked rescue officials and members of the press.
“The church members have been very aggressive and hostile to us; they attacked us and we had to withdraw our services. I was attacked, the officials of the Lagos State Building Control Agency and the General Manager of LASEMA were also attacked. We were not hurt and our equipment was not damaged. This was, however, because we quickly left when they attacked us. We are still waiting to settle before we resume our job,” he said.
The church released a statement on the wall of its founder, Prophet T.B Joshua.
It reads in part, “A building, not the church auditorium as was reported,” the statement, posted on Pastor T.B. Joshua’s official Facebook Page, read. “The few people that were there are being rescued.”
“Nothing makes us love a person as much as praying for him. The more I love you, the more I will pray for you.”
