Three siblings trapp£d in Lagos GNI building c0llapse after f!re
Three siblings trapped in Lagos GNI building collapse after fire
Three family members and many others are still trapped in the 25-storey Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Building on Martins Street, Lagos Island, that was gutted by fire on Christmas Eve.
A victim, Adore Policap, who was weeping uncontrollably at the scene of the incident yesterday, told Daily Sun that three of his siblings are still trapped in one of the buildings: Classic Stores. “The building is still standing, but the extension has collapsed. They had gone to pick some wares in the store when the unexpected happened. They sell shoes and clothes.
“They have been trapped since Wednesday. I believe that they are still alive, but they are unable to communicate. Everybody knows them in the market as the Classics. The three of them are: Cashmir, Stephen, and KC; they are from the same father and mother. I am their elder sister. Our parents are dead. I am crying because they are brothers from the same parents. If they are not rescued, the tragedy will be too much to bear.
“I am begging the emergency responders, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to expedite actions in the recovery and rescue operation. How could this happen to us? We are not talking of a community, but a family. They are the same father and mother. We are pleading with any person or organisations that can help in any way to come to our rescue.”
A trader, Festus, told Daily Sun that, outside the Classic family members, an unspecified number of traders are still trapped in the building. “I know that many may have died, but I am sure that if the State Government should call for assistance, some organisations, like Julius Berger, will come with excavators and other equipment. The recovery and rescue operation is too slow, because there is only one excavator on ground. I don’t know why they are using only one excavator when we are talking of human lives. Only one excavator has been working since the incident occurred.
“We have been running up and down to see if we can get an excavator, but to no avail. We mobilised yesterday to see what we could do with our hands, but people prevented us, saying that they were doing Eyo festival, so there was no work yesterday. With the way the emergency responders are working, many people would have died.
“I am calling on Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to prevail on organisations like Julius Berger to come to our rescue. Many bodies, including charred ones, have been evacuated from the rubble.”
A trader, Mike Ekezie, told Daily Sun that he lost goods worth over ₦11 million. “Well, I am alive. I will pick up soon, but what of Obum, who just returned from China; he died in the rubble. What about three brothers, the Classics, who are trapped? There are many deaths recorded. When the incident happened, we didn’t know that there were casualties. It happened when most of us had gone home, but people stayed behind because of the season. There are some apprentices who were asked to do some packing; they are all trapped. In fact, after recovery operation, we would have lost over 20 people. I am surprised at the way and manner the government is handling this matter. The work is too slow. The government should expedite actions in the rescue operation. People have been trapped since five days.”
Mrs Gloria Obi said Anambra State is already mourning because the majority of the people affected by the inferno are from the state. “We have lost many of our illustrious businessmen and we have lost billions of money. The devil has attacked us and taken our joy this Christmas season. Majority of us who were about travelling home for the New Year can’t travel again because our brothers and associates are trapped in the building.”
The Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Dr Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, said the total number of bodies recovered so far from the rubble by the agency’s response team stood at three.
The fire started on the fourth floor on Wednesday and spread to the sixth floor of the 25-storey building before engulfing the remaining floors and adjoining structures.
A detached section of the plaza, however, collapsed during the inferno, thereby trapping some traders and market assistants.
The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, in a statement by its spokesperson, Nosa Okunbor, confirmed the development on Saturday, saying that the bodies recovered from the scene include an adult female, extricated from the collapsed structure; a decapitated man with severed limbs; and an adult male, extricated with body intact.
As of the time of filing this report, over seven bodies have been recovered since late Thursday, while emergency responders, including the police, were still working hard to either recover dead bodies or rescue victims.
