1 DEAD IN NITEL BUILDING COLLAPSE

PUNCH - A labourer, Matthew Adesuyi, was crushed to death while four others sustained varying degrees of injuries after a building, being refurbished, collapsed on the premises of the Nigerian Telecommunications Limited on FIRRO Road, Cappa, Oshodi, Lagos.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the victims were labourers hired to work on the one-storey building.

One of the labourers, who identified himself simply as Sodiq, said the incident occurred around 8:30am on Thursday.



He said, "We are over 70 labourers hired to refurbish the building. Most of my colleagues had gone out to have breakfast but I remained in the building, on the ground floor, when it trembled.



"I immediately beckoned to my colleagues who were on the first floor but the building quickly collapsed.

"One of them managed to jump off but sustained some injuries while the other lost four fingers of his right hand when the building collapsed."



Sodiq said three others were trapped in the rubble but a team of rescuers were able to rescue two while one other person remained trapped for hours.



Our correspondent, who visited the scene, was barred from entering the compound as security guards acting under instruction, cordoned off onlookers.