PRETORIA - The bodies of two children who died after a building collapsed in Ogudu, Lagos State, Nigeria, were recovered by the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) on Wednesday, The Premium Times reported.
In a series of tweets, LASEMA said they received a distress call during heavy rainfall about a collapsed building at No. 46 Gafari Balogun Street, Ogudu area.
"On arrival at the scene it was observed that a segment of the building collapsed as a result of a mud slide from the back of the building, trapping two persons," the agency wrote on Twitter.
Premium Times reported that the director-general of LASEMA, Femi Oke-Osanyintolu, said emergency members were informed of two children who were trapped in the rubble and the team immediately commenced a search-and-rescue operation.
“Unfortunately, they were found dead and their remains are being transported to the mortuary,” Oke-Osanyintolu was quoted as saying.
It was said other occupants of the house were reportedly injured as a result of the collapse.
On Twitter, LASEMA said it had conducted a post-disaster assessment and discovered that there were about 22 rooms in the two-storey building.
It was also said the building was old and had collapsed due to improper maintenance.
"Most of the occupants of the building had been evicted before the eventual collapse of the affected building."
According to The Conversation, building collapses in Lagos have become common in recent years.
The online publication said a Lagos state inquiry found that there were at least 135 cases between 2007 and 2013.
It was said that most of the structures that collapse are multi-storey buildings, which suggests a problems with the soil on which they are built.