Rescue operation at the building that collapsed in Ita Faji area of Lagos Island on Wednesday has gotten to ground zero, an official has said.

Although the official casualty is yet to be announced, an official involved in the rescue operation told PREMIUM TIMES 16 people have died while 41 were rescued alive.

The General Manager of the Lagos Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA, Adesina Tiamiyu, said that the agency would end its rescue operations Thursday.

In disaster management, Ground Zero refers to the point of most severe destruction or damage.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how the building caved in Wednesday, killing scores of victims and injuring others.

On Thursday, residents claimed there are more people still trapped in the building as emergency officials intensified efforts to rescue more victims.

But Mr Tiamiyu said the rescue operations has reached the base of the destruction.

Apart from the victim said to have been rescued in the middle of the night, PREMIUM TIMES can report that no other victim of the building collapse was brought out from the debris Thursday morning.

“It is not yet official but operations have ended,” an official told PREMIUM TIMES around 10:16 a.m.

Mr Tiamiyu said LASEMA would not release the figures of the victims and survivors until rescue operations are officially concluded and all relevant information harmonised.

But PREMIUM TINES gathered from a source at the agency that about 41 victims were rescued alive while
16 people were confirmed dead.

Of the 16 dead people, this newspaper gathered that 12 were pupils of the school that occupied the building.

Details later…