A total of nine persons were rescued after a one-storeyed building sank due to torrential rainfall in Lagos, Nigeria’s economic hub, said an emergency response agency official Monday.
Ibrahim Farinloye, the coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in the southwest region, said in a statement that nine people were trapped in the sinking building in the Mende area of Lagos during a heavy downpour Monday.
The victims, however, got a reprieve from the personnel of NEMA following a distress call, Farinloye said.
“The torrential rainfall, which lasted for about four hours in the early hours of the day, flooded lots of communities in Lagos state. NEMA advance team upon close observations called for more reinforcement of personnel,” the relief agency official said.
The ill-fated building started sinking as the rain got heavier, according to Farinloye, while citing the narration of one of the rescued victims.
“The landlord of the building had used a ladder to escape, but NEMA questioned him for failure to contact emergency responders. Someone from one of the trapped victim’s offices contacted NEMA,” he said, adding responders had already completed the rescue operation in the area. Enditem
