The Coroner Inquest investigating the 21-storey building collapsed which occured at Gerard Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, has heard how emergency responder carried out rescue operations at the collapse scene.
At the proceeding in the Ikeja High Court premises, the Director General/Chief Executive Officer of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency LASEMA, Dr. Oluwafemi Damilola Oke-Osayintolu gave a vivid account of how the rescue operations were carried out by responders.
He gave evidence that none of the victims of the collapsed building died during the rescue operations saying that evidence showed that they were all dead before the rescue operations commenced.
While being led in evidence-in-chief by the Lagos State Building Control Agency, LASBCA, Mr. A.S Odugbemi, Dr. Oke-Osayintolu explained that his experience during the rescue operations was carried out by both professionals and non-professionals alike, assisting with their equipment.
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He said the agency in its years of existence was confronted with what he described as a classical national emergency.
He noted that the rescue team he directed and gave instructions to as the incident commander mandated by the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu moved into the incident area following a primary assessment, partitioning the ‘building’ into Quadrums 1 to 4 and employing Heavy and Life Duty equipment.
He also said the use of drone and Delsa equipment for detection of life enabled both primary and secondary emergency responders to determine that there was no life in the debris before work commenced.
Speaking on oath before the Coroner, Magistrate Komolafe, Dr. Oke-Osayintolu was queried by Mr. Ola Adeosun representing Prowess Engineering Ltd whether the agency in the course of the rescue operation led to the death of some persons underground.
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He responded, “My Lord, with my medical background, I have attended to a lot of emergencies within State and Federal, I would say no.”
Speaking about what he called theatre field or the emergency field, DG LASEMA said, “Where we put the excavator is the first quadrum. We use the Delsa to detect if there is somebody that is alive and I said this type of collapse building, it’s unique itself.
Further hearing has been adjourned till February 4, 2022.
