Tragedy struck in the early hours of Monday when a two-storey building collapsed in the Oyingbo area of Lagos, leaving several residents trapped under the rubble.
The incident, which occurred at about 12:20 a.m. at 54 Cole Street, near Cemetery Bus Stop, sent shockwaves through the densely populated neighbourhood. Emergency responders, led by personnel of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, were swiftly deployed to the site to commence rescue operations.
Confirming the incident, the Director of the Fire and Rescue Service, Mrs Margaret Adeseye, said the building had long been identified as structurally distressed before it finally gave way.
“It is an ongoing rescue operation involving an existing two-storey building which had earlier been marked in distress before collapsing on its occupants,” she stated.
As of press time, 15 persons — seven men, four women and four children — had been rescued and taken to the Federal Medical Centre, Ebute-Metta, and the General Hospital, Odan, Lagos Island, for treatment.
Eyewitnesses recounted how residents screamed for help as parts of the building caved in, trapping families in their sleep. A local resident, who preferred not to be named, described the scene as “chaotic and heartbreaking,” lamenting that repeated warnings about the building’s condition were ignored.
Rescue teams from the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), and the police were still on the ground as of the time of filing this report, sifting through the debris in search of survivors.
Incidents of building collapse remain a recurring nightmare in Lagos, often blamed on poor compliance with structural standards, sub-standard building materials, and lax regulatory oversight.
In November 2021, a high-rise building under construction in Ikoyi collapsed, killing at least 42 people — one of the worst building disasters in the state’s history. More recently, in September 2025, a four-storey building under construction in Yaba crumbled, claiming multiple lives.
Authorities have since renewed calls for stricter enforcement of building codes and more rigorous supervision of construction projects to prevent further tragedies.
Rescue efforts at Cole Street were still ongoing at the time of this report.
