Nine people were rescued alive yesterday, while three others were feared trapped under the rubble of an uncompleted two-storey building that collapsed in the Ota-Ona area of Ikorodu, Lagos State.

The Guardian learnt that the building caved in around 2:00 p.m., without any immediate fatalities. However, the body of a dead boy was later retrieved. According to Facebook user Rasheed Fatuga, who raised the alarm, the uncompleted structure, located directly opposite the Mobil Filling Station (formerly Bugon Filling Station), collapsed in the afternoon, leaving an unspecified number of people trapped.

Confirming the incident in a statement, the Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Dr Olufemi Damilola Oke-Osanyintolu, said nine adult males were rescued and treated by LASEMA’s Pre-Hospital Care Unit.

He stated: “Following distress alerts at about 2:02 p.m., the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency activated the state’s emergency response plans from Agbowa and Alausa.

“Upon the arrival of the agency’s Tiger and Lion Response Teams at the scene by 2:40 p.m., it was discovered that a two-storey building undergoing construction had collapsed, with three victims trapped under the debris.”

Oke-Osanyintolu stressed that the cause of the collapse had yet to be determined as of the time of his statement. He noted that LASEMA’s Tiger and Lion Response Teams immediately commenced search and rescue efforts and activated safety measures, including cordoning off the area.

He added: “The agency’s heavy-duty equipment, ‘the excavator’, was deployed to aid in the quick rescue of victims trapped beneath the collapsed structure.”

When The Guardian contacted the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), an official declined to comment, citing the absence of a substantive general manager.

Meanwhile, rescue operations are ongoing, with emergency teams working tirelessly to search through the debris. The cause of the collapse has not been officially determined as of press time.