Families To Receive Bodies Of Victims Of Collapsed Ikoyi Building This Week

The Lagos State government has stated that it will start releasing the corpses recovered from last week’s building collapse to their families.

It could be recalled that the 21-storey building, one of three luxury high rise buildings under construction in Ikoyi, collapsed on Monday, November 1, 2021.

15 people were rescued alive from under the rubble however, 43 people have been brought out dead in an ongoing recovery operation.

The state’s Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, stated that the identification of bodies is ongoing at IDH, Yaba.

He also stated that families that can clearly identify their loved ones will get them this week, but those that don’t might face a longer wait.

At least 29 families have submitted DNA samples to identify bodies they wish to claim.

A committee made up of senior officials from the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Justice has been set up to supervise the identification and release of the bodies.

The Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has announced last week that the state was willing to support families of the deceased with burial costs.

Also, survivors were also promised financial support ‘to help them settle and cope with challenges of feeding’.

Omotoso stated that recovery operations will continue at the site until the rubble is completely cleared.

“It will go on until the site is cleared and nobody is left in the rubble of the collapsed 21-storey edifice,” he said.