It was reported that the building, which was under construction at Hamza Abdullahi Street Off Gado Nasco Road, equally housed a shopping mall.

Our correspondent also reported that the rescued operation was carried out by a combined team of the Abuja Metropolitan Management Council and Federal Roads Maintenance Agency.

Also among the rescued team were the Federal Road Safety Corps, the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps and others.

One of the residents, Mrs Chinyere Okah, who spoke with NAN, confirmed that the building which was being converted from a shopping mall to a residential apartment collapsed on Thursday night at about 10:30 p.m.

The Director-General, FCT Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Alhaji Abbas Idriss, confirmed that two persons lost their lives in the incident, while the trapped persons had been rescued.

Abbas explained that the agency received a distress call about the incident at 11.45 pm on Thursday evening and thereafter activated its stakeholders to the scene.

He revealed that five persons were rescued and taken to Kubwa District Hospital, noting that two of the patients had since been discharged.

“As a follow up to the developing story of the collapsed building at Kubwa, a suburb in the FCT, the two trapped persons in the rubble have been rescued fatally injured.

“The bodies of the two persons that lost their lives have been deposited at the Kubwa District Hospital mortuary. Their relatives have been identified and were making arrangements for their burial.

“The rescue operation at the collapsed site came to an end with five number of persons rescued alive, three with various degrees of injuries , while two persons were unhurt and discharged from the Kubwa District Hospital,” he said.

He commended all the stakeholders for their prompt response and cooperation, including construction companies which is line with their corporate social responsibilities mobilised and deployed all their resources to saving live.

He also lauded the Security Agencies for their vigilance and support and t residents of the area for their cooperation during the rescue operations.

Idriss, however, appealed to developers to always obey the building code and warned residents to desist from living in uncompleted buildings.

Also, Mr Ikharo Attah, Senior Special Assistant on Monitoring, Inspection and Enforcement to the FCT Minister, said the owner of the property was fore-warned by concerned residents.

“The building was initially a shopping mall, but the report we got from residents was that the owner was warned, and at a certain point, it was now being converted to a residential apartment.

“The down was a shopping mall, but they were putting up some blocks of flat on the first and second suspended floors. You cannot alter a shopping mall and convert to a residential building thereby giving it more load that what it was meant to carry,” he said.

Attah added that the FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Bello had ordered that tests be carried out on most of the high rise buildings around the area.

He noted that the combined team of security agencies at the scene is currently trailing the owner of the property, who residents suggested may have absconded.

“We have a policy in the FCTA that when a building collapses, the land is forfeited and revoked and the place is converted into a park or garden for residents around the neighbourhood,” he added.

On his part, Umar Shuaibu, Coordinator, Abuja Metropolitan Management Council, blamed the incident on quackery and shady construction, adding that the FCTA has a policy of subjecting old buildings to integrity test.

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The building is located at No. 15, Ansarudeen St., by Ile Epo Bus stop, Iyana Ejigbo.

It was reported that public and private primary and secondary schools in Lagos State are to re-open on Monday after about six months closure due to COVID-19.

Lagos State-owned tertiary institutions re-opened on Sept. 14.

The Director-General of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Dr Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, told newsmen that no person was trapped in the collapsed building.

He noted that the school had been under lock and key since March due to the COVID-19-induced restrictions.

According to the LASEMA director-general, the building, which collapsed at 8:15 a.m. on Saturday, is part of a conjoined (twin) three-storey building.

He said that the collapse was attributable to “visible distress”, adding that the collapsed portion affected the second wing, as shown by visible cracks on the walls, pillars and decking of the second portion.

“Distress calls received established that the building collapsed at about 8:15a.m.

“Information gathered from some officials of the school revealed that the building had previously shown signs of distress and the school was planning to renovate and refortify the structure.

“The three-storey building has two wings; the wing that collapsed seriously affected the second wing, as visible cracks can be seen on the walls, pillars and decking.

“Fortunately, nobody was trapped.

“Responders to the incident are LASEMA, Lagos State Building Collapse Agency and the police,” he said.

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Not all the roughly 200 residents of the building in Mahad, about 165 km (100 miles) south of India’s financial capital Mumbai, were at home when it crumbled in the evening, Bharatshet Gogawale, the local lawmaker said.

“I believe about 100 to 125 people must have been inside at the time of its collapse,” Gogawale, who was present at the site, said.

The building comprised around 47 flats, according to the police department of western Maharashtra state.

Authorities have yet to ascertain the cause of the collapse and the number of casualties, but about 30 people were pulled out by rescue teams and local residents.

TV channels showed footage of the debris with locals and police trying to reach the trapped people.

The TV footage also showed at least one ambulance leaving the area as people surrounding it made frantic phone calls.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has assured the local administration of all possible support for speedy rescue and relief work, his office said on Twitter.

Three teams from the National Disaster Response Force have been moved to the site, the NDRF said in a statement.

Old creaky structures and illegal constructions in India often lead to collapses, typically during torrential rain.

More than 1,200 people were killed in 1,161 building collapses across India in 2017, according to latest data from the National Crime Records Bureau.

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Oke-Osanyintolu told our correspondent that after evacuating all the residents, preliminary report on the collapsed building showed that it had been “severely distressed with the reinforcement.”

He said that the building having corroded had visible cracks on the walls and pillars due to lack of maintenance.

Oke-Osanyintolu further revealed that all the slabs of the building were weak, making part of it to collapse at about 9 a.m. on Monday.

He said that there was neither loss of life nor injury.

Oke-Osanyintolu said that LASEMA experts and LAGOS State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), officials were at the scene of the incident.

According to him, all the occupants have been evacuated from the premises, while the entire building has been cordoned off to prevent any secondary incident.

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It was reported that the incident occurred around 6.30 pm at Yaradua Drive near Lords Chosen church.

Disaster managers including the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Imo counterpart, SEMA and the Red Cross were on ground carrying out rescue operations.

Mr Evans Ugoh, Head of Imo/Abia operations office of NEMA confirmed that two casualties had so far been recorded while seven persons had been rescued.

Ugoh disclosed that many people were believed to have been trapped at the debris of the collapsed building.

He said that rescue operation would be on till it was ascertained that nobody was still trapped under the debris.

On the cause of the incident, Ugoh said, “for now, we are focusing on rescue operation, it will be followed with the cause of the collapse.

“We have taken those already rescued to the hospital for medical attention, while further search is still ongoing,” he said.

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Our correspondent who visited the scene at No 7, Rufai Street, Ojuelegba, said no live was lost in the incident which occurred at about 8:55 p.m. on Thursday.

Some of the residents, who spoke with our correspondent said that virtually all the inhabitants had vacated the building before the crash but still had some of their belonging inside the building.

According to the tenants, the building actually started collapsing gradually since Oct. 18.

Mr Emeka Anozie, one of the residents, said that when a window from the back flat collapsed around 7 p.m, he alerted all the remaining tenants who were busy removing their belongings to come out, adding that the entire building collapsed few minutes later.

It was also learnt that the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) had on March 25, 2019 marked the building and warned the residents and the landlord to vacate the premises.

Our correspondent also learnt that LASBCA also served another notice on the landlord on May 21.

The Director-General, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Dr Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, said he immediately mobilised his team and other safety agencies to ensure protection of lives and properties in the area.

It was reported that environment and safety officials of the Lagos State Government have commenced demolition of the collapsed building.

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Omo-Agege disclosed this in a statement issued by his media office in Abuja on Sunday.

A three-storey building nearing completion collapsed in Abraka, Ethiope East Local Government of the state, during a heavy downpour on Saturday.

Omo-Agege prayed that God received the souls of those who perished in the incident and wished the injured quick recovery.

He also prayed that never again would such a disaster visit any family in Delta, which is his homestate.

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According to figures released by National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), 14 persons have so far died in the collapsed three-storey building in Delimi community of Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau.

President Buhari, in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, said he was greatly shocked by the unfortunate loss of lives and wished those injured quick recovery.

“I feel your pains at this difficult moment and my prayers, thoughts and empathy are with you as you struggle to overcome the shock of this misfortune.”

He prayed to God to comfort everyone affected by the sad incident, and urged stakeholders in the building industry to find a lasting solution to the frequent incidents of building collapse across the country.

”There is the urgent need to address the issue of enforcing safety standards in our buildings in order to forestall future tragedies,” he said.

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LASEMA revealed its handicap in a Twitter post when it said an ‘unspecified number of people were recovered from the rubble before the arrival of the emergency responders on the incident scene”.

However, the agency said its rescue team and other agencies brought out 10 people alive, made up of 3 adult females, 1 adult male, 2 teenage boys, 1 young boy and 3 teenage girls. Dr Titilayo Goncalves, permanent secretary of the health ministry said 20 people were brought out from the wreckage and they were receiving treatment from various hospitals.

Other emergency services that joined in the rescue bid were LASG FIRE, LASAMBUS, NEMA, FED FIRE, Nigeria Police, NSCDC, LNSC and the RED CROSS.

The four-storey building near Massey Children Hospital collapsed this morning while children were having classes on the third floor.

Governor Akinwunmi Ambode raced to the scene and was briefed by LASEMA officials on ground.

Parents of the pupils jammed the site of the incident wailing and shouting, expecting to see their children brought out alive.

Our correspondent who was at the scene of the incident reports that the building collapsed about 10: am on Wednesday.

According to some residents of the area, the building was earlier marked for demolition before it was renovated.

One of the parents said her son was rescued by the neighbours who quickly ran to the site.

“My son was just lucky for him to have been rescued alive. The neighbours ran to the building immediately it collapsed.

“People in the neighbourhood started the rescue before the state rescue team arrived. I sincerely thank God and the people in the area,”she said.

A witness who pleaded anonymity said staff of the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), came for inspection of the building regularly.

“This building was marked for demolition. We kept seeing people from Alausa coming to inspect the building, and the next thing we saw was the same building undergoing renovation.

“The state regulatory body is not strict with its policies. Such calamity would have been avoided if the right action was taken by demolishing the building. We pray people will be evacuated safely.’’

However, rescue teams with ambulances found it difficult to gain access into the scene due to the crowd that gathered at the scene.

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The Deputy Governor, Dr Idiat Adebule, gave this assurance when she visited the victims at General Hospital, Marina, Lagos.

Adebule said that rescue operations were on to ensure the safety of the trapped pupils and staff of the collapsed school.

It was reported that a three-storey building housing the Ohen Nursery/Primary School in Lagos Island, collapsed in the early hours of Wednesday.

It was reported that some pupils and staff of the school were still trapped in the rubbles.

Adebule, however, urged the parents to remain calm and be prayerful as rescue operations had been put on top gear by the state government to ensure that not too many casualties were recorded.

“We commiserate with the families of the affected pupils and staff.

“We are urging parents, who are anxious to see their children and wards, to allow medical doctors and government’s rescue team to do their work in rescuing and protecting the lives of the victims.

“We are also assuring you that the state government will do its utmost to ensure that the best medical attention is given to those that have been rescued so far.

“We are also intensifying efforts to safely rescue other pupils and staff that are still trapped,” Adebule assured them.

The deputy governor said that it was too early to give the numbers of the casualty.

She said that the state government would issue an official information on the tragic incident very soon.

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