Four unidentified persons are currently battling for their lives after fire gutted a six-storey building at the Afriland Tower, which houses a branch of the United Bank for Africa and other companies on Broad Street in the Lagos Island area of Lagos State.
Confirming the incident in a statement on Tuesday, Ogabi Olajide, the Deputy Controller of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, said the emergency call was received at 1:38 p.m., and fire crews from the Ebute Elefun and Sari Iganmu fire stations responded.
“The call was received at 13:38 hours, and fire crews from Ebute Elefun Fire Station and Sari Iganmu Fire Station responded.
“The fire originated in the inverter room located in the basement of the building, while smoke spread across multiple floors and engulfed the structure,” Olajide stated.
According to him, evacuation of occupants was in progress, while firefighting operations had been concluded, dousing the earlier panic before the arrival of the first responders.
The firefighting agency official, in another statement stated that 11 persons had been evacuated into the ambulances.
He further explained that out of the 11, a total of nine casualties were rescued, while five individuals were successfully resuscitated.
“Several others escaped unhurt, while efforts are currently ongoing to resuscitate the remaining four individuals. Relevant emergency agencies are on the ground to ensure crowd control and easy movement of emergency responders.”
