Collapsed building: Govt identifies more distressed structures in Mushin

[Mirror]

Lagos State Government yesterday said it had identified distressed buildings in Mushin where a threestorey building collapsed on Tuesday.

The house located at 38 Amu Street claimed the life a year-old boy and injured several others.

The Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Olutoyin Ayinde, said the building might have caved in as a result of old age, adding that other identified buildings in the area would be subjected to integrity test.

He said: "Although there is no proof that the building was marked for demolition before, with this, we have been able to discover more buildings that require integrity test in the area."

Ayinde blamed the recurrent building collapse in the state on the violation of the building regulations.

He said: "It is unfortunate that many people turn themselves to experts in the building sector. With this one, we have been able to discover more buildings that are in distress which we have to take inventory of.

Over time, we have been short-changing ourselves through illegal building.

"As we speak, some buildings are being erected with substandard materials and we have some that require rehabilitation; people should just inform us."

Ayinde described Lagos as a low line area surrounded by salty water which most of the builders use in mixing their cement.

This, according to him, weakens the structure over a period of time.

Meanwhile, the General Manager of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA, Dr. Femi Oke-Osanyintolu, has bemoaned the initial difficulty encountered by his team to reach the site of the collapsed building.

National Mirror