FIVE days after an uncompleted three-storey building collapsed in Ajao Estate in Lagos, rescue workers yesterday recovered three trapped bodies.
Some relations of the victims who were at the scene of the incident, expressed dissatisfaction over the slow rescue operation.
There were fears that some bodies may still be trapped in the debris as the escavation continued.
Cursing and wailing over what they considered a slow or non-response to distress calls, some relatives of the victims told The Guardian that one of the victims, was still making phone calls for help till around noon on Tuesday, the second day of the disaster.
Worst still, the rescue workers were found using manual instruments like shovel, hammer to dig through the rubbles. The bodies, which were already decomposing were found in sleeping positions besides each other.
One of them, Alimi Aliu, in his 30s was identified by his relatives through his wine-coloured jacket and trousers, which he wore before leaving home on Sunday. The other two could not be identified due to their decomposed state.
A brother to Alimi, Jimoh, told The Guardian that the deceased was not a bricklayer but a driver, who usually came to the site to play with some of his friends.
Alimi was said to be survived by a teenager, Aina, and his widow, Alimotu. He was an indigene of Okehi Local Council of Kogi State.
One of the rescue workers from Lagos State Physical Planning Development Authority (LASPHYDA), who sought anonymity, decried response to the disaster. He lamented that for over four hours after the bodies were discovered, there was no ambulance to evacuate them. He also said that since the unfortunate incident, no concrete effort to fumigate the environment.
Said he: “It is unfortunate that we are doing this type of work manually and for over four hours since the bodies were discovered, they could not be removed because there is no ambulance.
Apart from that, we were not given ordinary gloves and other items to cover our nose since we commenced the operation. Also, the equipment we are using are not strong enough as some of the dead were discovered through offensive odours and flies milling round the bodies,” he said.
But Head of the Emergency Response Team, Dr. Femi Osanyitola, who was almost lynched by an angry mob explained that the rescue operation was slow due to failure of a construction firm to show up with its equipment at the disaster area.