JUST IN: TWO BODIES RECOVERED FROM RUBBLE OF FIRE-RAVAGED LAGOS ISLAND PLAZA
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By: Sefiu Ajape
Two adult males have been recovered dead from the debris of the Great Nigeria Insurance House Plaza, which was razed by fire in the Balogun Market area of Lagos Island, Lagos State.
Hotjist had earlier reported that the fire outbreak began on the fourth floor of the building before spreading to the sixth floor of the 25-storey structure and eventually engulfing other floors as well as adjoining buildings.
During the inferno, a detached section of the plaza collapsed, trapping several traders who were reportedly evacuating their goods at the time.
An official of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), who spoke with our correspondent on Friday on condition of anonymity due to lack of authorisation, confirmed that the two bodies were recovered amid ongoing search and rescue operations.
“We recovered two bodies today. The first body was recovered at about 11:03am, while the second was found at about 12:03pm,” the official said.
A video obtained by Hotjist captured the moment emergency responders retrieved the corpses and placed them in body bags.
While the identities of the deceased had yet to be formally confirmed by authorities, a trader in the market, Zacchaeus Afolayan, disclosed that one of the victims was a market assistant who was caught in the collapse.
“One of them was identified as one of the boys assisting traders in the market. He was helping traders to move out their goods when the building collapsed on him,” he said.
Anxiety remains high among traders, as fears persist that more people may still be trapped beneath the collapsed section of the plaza.
Among those feared trapped is a China-based cloth merchant, identified simply as Obum, along with other traders.
Afolayan had earlier told our correspondent on Thursday that Obum was in the process of evacuating his goods when the structure gave way.
“Obum’s store is behind the plaza. He had already evacuated almost all his goods when the fire was spreading and went back to carry the last ones. That was when the detached part of the plaza, which had been weakened by the fire, collapsed on his store,” he said.
He further revealed that Obum managed to make contact from beneath the rubble in the early hours of Thursday, confirming he was still alive at the time.
“He called me around 2am from under the rubble, and that was when we knew he was still alive. He said he was not the only one trapped there. He was begging us not to allow him die, saying no one would take care of his children. He is based in China and only comes home during festive periods to do business,” Afolayan said.
According to him, Obum, an indigene of Umuoji in Anambra State, called again later on Thursday afternoon but sounded significantly weaker.
Another trader, who identified himself simply as Charles, said at least two more traders were believed to be trapped under the collapsed structure.
“As I speak with you, two people have called from under the rubble. The relatives of one of them just arrived from Onitsha after he called to say he was trapped. Another man also said his brother called him, including one Obum,” he added.
Fire outbreaks have continued to plague markets on Lagos Island, with such incidents occurring repeatedly and resulting in the destruction of goods worth millions of naira each year.
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