AT LEAST 20 people have been confirmed killed following the collapse of a three-storey building situated at the Ita-Faaji area of Lagos Island on Wednesday, according to the Lagos State Government.
Disclosing this in a statement issues by the Director Public Affairs of the Lagos State Ministry of Health, Adeola Salako, on Friday, the state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris, confirmed that 20 victims were brought in dead to the Lagos Island General Hospital, while 45 survivors were being managed at the Lagos Island General Hospital, Massey Street Children Hospital, Onikan Health Centre, Gbagada General Hospital, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, and the National Orthopedic Hospital, Igbobi, as well as the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH).
The statement reads, “out of the 45 survivors known to the state government, as at this morning, 14 (10 children and 4 adults) are still receiving medical attention at Lagos Island General Hospital. According to the Medical Director of Lagos Island General Hospital, Dr Ismail Gani-Kale, more survivors will still be discharged to their families before the close of work today,”
Though, the Minister for Health, Professor Isaac Adewole has visited the victims of the collapsed building at the Lagos Island General Hospital.
The minister lauded Lagos State for its prompt response and medical care for the survivors.
” I’m greatly impressed by the promptness of the emergency response of the state and the efficient health care deployed to ensure that the survivors of the sad incident are stabilized and kept alive”, Adewole said.
He also applauded the government for granting free medical care to the victims in order to remove any barriers to prompt, qualitative and comprehensive care needed for the rehabilitation of the victims.
Dr Idris, however dismissed the claim in some quarters of some of the survivors being charged fees for health care. He warned that any government official caught extorting any survivor or demanding for gratification would be made to face strict disciplinary actions.
“Demanding that survivors who are already traumatized to pay for medical bills is not only unethical but also criminal,” he said, while calling on family members who have evidence of such extortion to contact the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Dr Titilayo Goncalves with authentic evidence.
The commissioner also expressed appreciation to corporate organizations and well-meaning individuals who had been donating items and other forms of support to the survivors.
