The corpse of an 11-year old girl has been recovered from the rubbles of a mosque which collapsed at Papa Ajao, Mushin area of Lagos State on Sunday.
The corpse of the girl was recovered by the emergency responders at the scene of the incident.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin confirmed the incident while responding to one of our inquiries about the rescue operation at the scene of the tragedy.
He said : “The rescue operation is ongoing but as I speak with you, the corpse of an 11-year-old girl has been recovered. The operation is still ongoing.”
Muslim faithful were in the mosque to observe the Zurih prayer when it suddenly caved in during afternoon prayers.
Five people were critically wounded in the incident and are currently receiving treatment at hospitals.
But the Lagos Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) confirmed that five persons were rescued, and one dead body recovered from the totally collapsed mosque.
However, a bulldozer working on a reconstruction of a street drain was said to be responsible for the sudden collapse of the one – storey mosque building
A resident who identified himself as Mr Adeyinka said some worshippers, including Islamic school pupils were still in the mosque when the bulldozer man digging the trench for the drain hit the building ground.
He said : “The mosque was too close to the expanded drain; it’s obviously too large.
“The drain was being expanded on Yusuf Street towards Ladipo Market Road.
“As the man was working in front of the mosque, I think the claw of the bulldozer had been hitting the edge of the foundation and the last strike brought the entire mosque down.
“It was after Zuhur salat (afternoon prayer) and many of the worshippers had just left the mosque, with a few people left and students of the Madrasat (Islamic school) in the upper floor.”
Another resident, Taiye Oseni, said : “Some of those trapped were brought out lifeless; many were injured and promptly rushed to nearby hospitals.
“The digging was too close to the mosque. They have asked everyone to leave the building when the work reached the spot if they knew they won’t any space at all for the structure to rest on.”
Permanent Secretary of LASEMA, Femi Osanyintolu, said in a statement listed the emergency responders at the scene as the LASEMA response team, the police, the Lagos State Ambulance Service, and the Lagos State Fire Service. (vitalnewsngr.com)
