Ilorin building collapse kills mother, four children
A mother and four of her children have died after part of a three-storey building collapsed on them at Popo Giwa, Ilorin, Kwara State, with emergency responders evacuating the remaining occupants over concerns about the structure.
The incident occurred around 5am on Tuesday at No. 41 Popo Giwa Street, beside Gogoro Mosque, trapping eight members of the same family under the rubble.
The Kwara State Fire Service said four people were recovered dead while four others, including the father, were rescued alive.
The service’s Public Relations Officer, Hassan Adekunle, said a distress call was received at about 5am, after which emergency responders were mobilised to the scene.
An excavator was brought in as rescuers cleared the rubble and searched for those trapped.
An eyewitness involved in the rescue, who identified himself as Abdul, said rescuers first recovered the mother and her youngest child, aged between five and seven years, dead from the rubble.
He said the father was later found alive after rescuers heard his voice from beneath the debris.
According to him, the father had gone to perform ablution in the toilet when the building collapsed, and a piece of wood from the old structure prevented a large pillar from striking him directly.
Abdul said the man, a serving military officer on medical leave, was eventually pulled out by the rescuers.
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He added that the eldest daughter who died in the collapse was a student of Usman Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, and was expected to begin the National Youth Service Corps programme on Thursday.
The Secretary of the Kwara State Emergency Management Agency, Magaji Saadudeen, confirmed that all eight people trapped were members of the same family.
He said the survivors were taken to hospital for treatment while the bodies of those who died were evacuated from the scene.
The Commissioner of Police in Kwara State, Ojo Adekimi, said preliminary findings showed that the collapsed section was the boys’ quarters of the three-storey building.
He said occupants of the main building had been evacuated while authorities assess the structural condition of the remaining sections.
“For now, the situation is under control. We will examine the remaining buildings and see how people can be secured. But for now, we have evacuated everybody from the main building,” Adekimi said.
The Fire Service said the cause of the collapse had not been established, stressing that a proper assessment would be needed before reaching a conclusion.
Adekunle said the authorities would communicate their findings after the assessment and take appropriate action if the structure was found to require demolition.
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Representing Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq at the scene, the Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development, Lawal Olohungbebe, said the road leading to the building helped emergency responders reach the site quickly.
He urged residents and developers to comply with building and town planning regulations, particularly those relating to access roads.
The Ilorin West Local Government Chairman, AbdulRahman Babatunde Ladan, said between six and seven ambulances were deployed to help evacuate the victims.
He urged residents to report structural defects and leave buildings when they notice signs that could pose a danger.
Several emergency and security agencies, including SEMA, NEMA, the Fire Service, NSCDC, the police, Red Cross and health officials, took part in the rescue operation.