The number of survivors of the collapsed 21-storey building in Ikoyi has risen to 15 while the deaths recorded so far is 42, Lagos state Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said on Saturday.

Sanwo-Olu, while giving an update on the search and rescue operation at the scene, said four more bodies have been recovered making the total death toll 42.

“Now, we have a total of 42 bodies that have been recovered and we have nine survivors, however, we have additional six people that we have also been able to identify that they were on-site and they were treated at the police hospital in Falomo so, we have a total of 15 survivors,” he said.

The governor visited the site in the company of the national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, and Nasarawa State governor, Abdullahi Sule, among others.

Missing persons’ form

The governor said that 49 families so far have filed the missing persons’ register as of Saturday morning.

He said the register had helped the state government to reconcile the details of victims rescued alive and also medically account for bodies recovered.

He said that a sum of money has been set aside “for succour and to give for befitting burial for those who died in the incident. Families that so wish to accept it are being supported for the burial arrangement”.

“Also, survivors in hospitals have been given the financial support to help them settle and cope with challenges of feeding in the aftermath of the incident.”

Meanwhile, the search and rescue operation is still ongoing at the site.

The Lagos State Government on Friday had said dead bodies recovered from the Ikoyi collapsed building were ready for identification.

It, therefore, called on families of the deceased to go to the Infectious Disease Hospital (IDH) Yaba to identify the corpses of their loved ones.

PT