Date 9 March 2016 Cause Under investigation | Deaths 34 | |
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At least 34 people were killed after a five-story building still under construction collapsed in Lekki District, Lagos, Nigeria.
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Collapse and rescue efforts
The collapse occurred on 9 March 2016, after heavy rain in the area. 13 other people were pulled from the collapsed building alive in a rescue operation that ended late on 10 March.
Investigation
Ibrahim Farinloye, from the National Emergency Management Agency, said in a statement that "Investigation on the cause of the collapse has started by various federal and state agencies". The Lagos state government said in a statement that preliminary reports suggest that the building construction was illegal, having been served a contravention notice for exceeding the number of allowed floors. The owners of the building apparently “criminally unsealed the property and continued building beyond the approved floors.”
Victor Suru, a bricklayer working on the building, stated that "After they (the owners) finished building the house, rain fell and the house shifted a bit. They put iron in front of the house (but) the iron couldn't hold the house, They left it like that and continued building."