Timothy Omotosho, the site engineer and supervisor, of the seven-storey building that collapsed in the Banana Island area of Lagos, has narrated how he escaped death from the seventh floor.
WITHIN NIGERIA recalls that the seven-storey building, which was under construction, collapsed on Wednesday, leaving many workers trapped.
Omotosho was rushed to the Lagos Island General Hospital after he sustained injuries on his head and some portions of his leg and arms.
While recalling the incident with PUNCH, the site engineer said he was supervising the concrete casting on the seventh floor when the slab suddenly broke into two.
The supervisor noted that unlike other workers who started fleeing for their lives, he was too much in shock to move.
He said, “We were casting the seventh-floor slab. I was supervising the casting of the concrete. We were like 80 percent done; before I knew what was happening, a side of the slab broke into two. Some of my guys immediately started running down the stairs, but I didn’t know what to do. I was in shock. I was just standing there.
“The next thing, the building collapsed on me when I was still on the seventh floor and when I opened my eyes, I was on the ground floor. All I know is someone carried me and I found myself in a vehicle.”
Omotosho said the concrete used on the site was pre-mixed by a company and every batch was tested for integrity before it was used.
He noted that he could not fathom what went wrong that led to the collapse of the building.
Three other victims in the same ward with Omotosho sustained varying degrees of injuries.
While one had an injury on his shoulder, the other had an injury on both knees.
The last victim had his head all wrapped in a bandage with one of his eyes completely covered.
It was gathered that he would be going for a CT scan to ascertain the extent of his injuries.
The fifth survivor was at a different section of the general hospital, where he was being treated for a broken spine.
PUNCH reported that at the Falomo Police Hospital, Ikoyi, a nurse, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said 10 people were rushed to the facility.
“Six of the 10 have been discharged; they sustained minor injuries, but the remaining four are still under observation,” she added.
In the Accident and Emergency Ward, there was one patient, while two other patients, a carpenter, Ramon Oladapo, and one David, were admitted to the surgical ward.
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