NationalLight  gathered that the building which was situated at Oba Idowu Oniru Street by Ave Maria Hospital, near Sandfield Bus Stop, Lekki was still under construction until it  caved in on Sunday morning.

The immediate cause of the collapse is still yet unknown as at the time of this report.

Permanent Secretary (PS), Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Dr. Femi Oke-Osanyintolu, and Lagos Territorial Coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Ibrahim Farinloye both confirmed the incident.

LASEMA said it responded to a distress call at the location at midnight and activated its response plan where six people were reported to have been trapped at the time.

The emergency management agency says it needed to deploy a heavy-duty equipment excavator for the rescue of the trapped victims.

“Upon arrival at the scene of the incident, an uncompleted 7-storey building undergoing construction was found to have collapsed. Six people are reported to be trapped under the rubbles of the collapsed structure,” Oke-Osanyintolu said.

“The Agency’s heavy-duty equipment excavator will be required for the rescue of the trapped victims. We have activated the Lagos State Response plan. Operation ongoing.”

However , it was observed that the site had been marked as a  restricted zone by the Lagos State Building Control Agency since February 2021.

This means that the affected building was earlier marked for demolition by the state government.

Meanwhile, operations are still ongoing to rescue more victims from the scene of the building collapse.