Ikoyi Building Collapse: Death toll rises to 36

The death toll in the 21-storey building that collapsed on Monday on Gerrard Road in the Ikoyi area of Lagos State has risen to 36.

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Coordinator, South-west, Ibrahim Farinloye, gave the update on Thursday.

The building crumbled around 2 p.m. when workers were on the site.

Mr Farinloye said the bodies include 33 males and three females. He said nine people which included one female and eight males have been rescued.

During his visit to the scene on Wednesday, the Lagos governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, noted that of the nine survivors, six are still in the hospital while three with minor injuries have been discharged.

He said the numbers of persons buried in the debris are still unconfirmed.

“As I have said, we don’t have a manifest, anybody you think that came here to work or is a worker here, we would take down the names,” he said.

“If you have a photograph of the person, it would be very useful. We also want your name and contact of who is presenting. We do not want more than one or two family members.”

The search and rescue operations are still ongoing as distraught relatives gathered at the ‘help desk’ to put down names of their family members trapped in the debris.