Twenty four people are now known to have died in the collapse of
a four-storey residential building in the Nigerian commercial
capital, Lagos, the Nigeria Red Cross has said.
"Three bodies were pulled out today, while one injured person
died in the hospital last night," Red Cross disaster officer Umar
Maigira told AFP Thursday.
The Red Cross had earlier confirmed 20 people dead after the
building caved in on Tuesday evening.
Local media on Wednesday quoted an unidentified Red Cross
official as saying that 43 bodies had been recovered from the site
in the Ebute-Metta district of Lagos but Maigira said he could not
confirm this toll.
Maigira said rescue workers were back "in full force to dig in
for more bodies and probably survivors" from the ruins of the
building, where the chances of anyone surviving were receding by
the hour.
"We now have the wherewithal to work with. (German construction
firm) Julius Berger, which moved its equipment away last night, is
back with its caterpillar and cranes. We shall leave no stone
unturned to see that we complete the operation today," he
assured.
Earlier he had said rain and a lack of specialised equipment
were hampering the rescue effort and preventing workers from
reaching people "whether dead or alive".
He said the foul smell of decomposing bodies was beginning to
ooze from the rubble.
Authorities have launched an investigation into the cause of the
tragedy, the latest in a string of building disasters in Africa's
most populous country in recent months, especially in overcrowded
Lagos.
Building experts have blamed the collapses on the use of
substandard construction materials, disregard for building
regulations and non-compliance with development policies.
Lagos State Governor Bola Tinubu, who visited the scene of the
disaster on Wednesday, ordered the immediate arrest and prosecution
of those responsible for the construction of the building.
"We shall prosecute the developers. We know their other
buildings and definitely they will not go unpunished," he said.
(Chinadaily.com via agencies July 21, 2006)
