Lekki building collapse: Benin Republic to take dead, injured citizens home

•No more trapped bodies —NEMA •Survivor dies

A yet-to-be identified survivor of the collapsed five-storey building in Lekki, Lagos State has died in the early hours of Thursday.

Also government of the Republic of Benin has made plans to evacuate the bodies of the country’s nationals, who died in the accident. It was also gathered that the injured citizens of the country will be taken to the country for further treatment.

At least a dozen nationals of the Republic of Benin were killed in the accident which also claimed the lives of over 20 Nigerians.

Lagos Metro gathered that officials of the Lagos Island General Hospital were as of Thursday evening still expecting the Republic of Benin Ambassador to Nigeria.

A nurse at the hospital, who spoke with Lagos Metro, under the condition of anonymity said one of the survivors, who were rushed to the hospital, had died. “They are coming to take the corpses of the people from the Republic of Benin and we have not seen them now. We also heard that they want to transfer those who were injured to their country for medical attention from their specialists,” the nurse said.

Meanwhile the spokesperson of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Ibrahim Farinloye has insisted that there is no more trapped body under the debris of the collapsed building. This was after four more bodies were recovered from the rubble of the collapsed building, marking the end of rescue operation which ended late on Wednesday.

NEMA in a statement, on Thursday, said that 34 died and 13 were rescued alive as operation reached ground level by 7.20 p.m. on Wednesday.

Farinloye said in the statement that the various federal and state agencies had immediately started investigations on the cause of the building collapse.

“The operation to rescue those trapped in the collapsed structure, belonging to Lekki Gardens started at about 4:00 a.m. on March 8 and ended by 7:20 p. m. on March 9. Those rescued alive are receiving treatment in various hospitals in Lagos metropolis,’’ the statement said.