JUST IN: Two bodies recovered from Lagos fire scene

Two male adults have been recovered dead from the rubble of the Great Nigeria Insurance House Plaza, which was gutted by fire in the Balogun Market area of Lagos Island, Lagos State.

PUNCH Online reported on Wednesday that the fire started on the fourth floor and spread to the sixth floor of the 25-storey building before engulfing the remaining floors and adjoining structures.

A detached section of the plaza, however, collapsed during the inferno, trapping some traders.

An official of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, who spoke with our correspondent on Friday on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the matter, said the two corpses were recovered during ongoing search operations for the trapped victims.

“We recovered two bodies today. The first body was recovered at about 11:03am, while the second was found at about 12:03pm,” the official said.

A video obtained by PUNCH Online showed how the corpses were recovered and later placed in body bags.

Although the identities of the deceased victims had yet to be officially confirmed, a trader, Zacchaeus Afolayan, said one of them was a market assistant who was caught up in the incident.

“One of them was identified as one of the boys assisting traders in the market. He was helping traders to move out their goods when the building collapsed on him,” he said.

Fears, however, persisted that more traders might still be trapped beneath the collapsed section of the plaza.

Among those feared trapped is a China-based clothier, identified simply as Obum, and some other traders.

Afolayan had earlier told our correspondent on Thursday that Obum was evacuating his goods when the structure collapsed on him.

“Obum’s store is behind the plaza. He had already evacuated almost all his goods when the fire was spreading and went back to carry the last ones. That was when the detached part of the plaza, which had been weakened by the fire, collapsed on his store,” he said.

He added that Obum contacted him from beneath the rubble in the early hours of Thursday, confirming that he was still alive.

“He called me around 2am from under the rubble, and that was when we knew he was still alive. He said he was not the only one trapped there. He was begging us not to allow him die, saying no one would take care of his children. He is based in China and only comes home during festive periods to do business,” Afolayan said.

Afolayan, who also owns a shop in the market, said Obum, an indigene of Umuoji in Anambra State, called again on Thursday afternoon, sounding weaker.

Another trader, who identified himself simply as Charles, said two other traders were believed to be trapped beneath the collapsed structure.

“As I speak with you, two people have called from under the rubble. The relatives of one of them just arrived from Onitsha after he called to say he was trapped. Another man also said his brother called him, including one Obum,” he added.

Fire incidents have become a recurring decimal in Lagos Island markets, with goods worth millions of naira destroyed annually as a result.