Nine unidentified women were rescued from a one-story building submerged in water in Lagos state.
The ladies were trapped when the building around Akinwunmi Street, Mende, Maryland, sank due to torrential rain and were rescued Monday.
Lagos Territory Coordinator, National Emergency Management Agency Ibrahim Farinloye confirmed the development in a statement.
He said agency officials were deployed to rescue the victims after receiving a 911 call about the emergency.
He said: “NEMA received an emergency call about a building with falling floors that is said to be trapping nine people.
The building is located at 47 Akinwunmi Street, Akinwunmi North Estate, Mende, Maryland, Ikeja.
“The torrential rains, which lasted about four hours in the early hours of the morning, inundated many communities in Lagos state.
After close observation, the NEMA advance team called for more personnel reinforcements.”
Farinloye said while speaking to one of the trapped victims, One Blessing, she said there were up to nine people, mostly women, who were trapped when the building began to sink after the submersion.
He added: “The landlord of the building had used a ladder to escape, but NEMA questioned him because he failed to contact rescue workers, but someone from one of the trapped victim’s offices contacted NEMA.
“The local agencies are now LASEMA, the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service and the Police Disaster Management Unit.
Rescue operations have begun and all nine trapped women have been successfully rescued.”
