September 16, 2014 – There was wild jubilation early this morning at the scene of the collapsed guest house in Synagogue Church of All Nations(SCOAN) when a 45 year old woman walk out alive after spending almost five days under the rubble.
Public Relations Officer, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mr. Ibrahim Farinloye said in a statement this morning that the woman walked out alive on her own at exactly 2AM.
He said additional eight dead bodies were also recovered from the rubble in overnight operation, bringing the total death toll to 62.
He said the total number of those rescued alive currently stands at 131 after the 45 year old woman was added to the list of those rescued alive.
Nigerian Police Force(NPF) on Monday deployed 5 sniffer dogs to hasten operation when it became clear to rescuers that they were inching closer to area suspected to habours more people inside the collapsed guest house.
“We are deploying Nigerian Police sniffer dogs to assist in locating trapped victims as we are getting close to area suspected to have more people trapped.
“The Commissioner of Police has ordered release of 5 dogs after a collective decision to use the dogs by responding agencies and NEMA asked the police Disaster Management team unit to facilitate the dogs immediately.
“The dogs will assist in search and rescue faster and help in early conclusion of the operation”, Farinloye said in a statement.
Meanwhile, rescue operators battled with fire outbreak from the scene of the collapsed guest house Monday morning as rescue operators intensify search and rescue operation in the area.
According to Director Lagos Fire Service, Mr. Rasak Fadipe, fire erupted this morning when the machines deployed struck an unknown item on site.
“During the course of search and rescue operation at the collapsed building, at the synagogue church, items under the building generated heat and resulted into fire outbreak, we are fully on ground and controlled it”, Fadipe said.
