Three persons have died while five others were rescued alive following the collapse of a two-storey commercial building under construction in Owode-Ede, Ede North Local Government Area of Osun State.
The incident occurred around 11pm on Friday at Zone 8, Oke Alaafia Community, triggering an emergency response involving firefighters, police officers and other rescue personnel.
The Federal Fire Service spokesperson in Osun State, DSF Ojo Omoyemi Olamide, disclosed the development in a statement, saying the command received a distress call through its emergency hotline at about 11:30pm and immediately deployed officers to the scene.
She said the five survivors were evacuated and taken to Idera Specialist Hospital, Ede, for medical treatment, while the remains of the three deceased victims were handed over to officers of the Nigeria Police Force, A Division, Ede.
According to her, the collapsed structure was a two-storey shopping complex comprising six shops on the upper floor, another six on the middle floor and two stores on the ground floor. The building covered an estimated area of 50 metres by 100 metres.
Olamide said preliminary findings suggested that structural deficiencies and the possible use of substandard building materials contributed to the collapse.
She added that the rescue operation was concluded at about 9:26am on Saturday, after which the personnel returned to their station.
The fire service spokesperson put the estimated value of damaged property at N100m, while assets worth approximately N150m were reportedly salvaged during the operation.
The rescue exercise was carried out jointly by the Federal Fire Service, Osun State Fire Service, Ede Station, the Nigeria Police Force, A Division, Ede, and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Owode-Ede Division.
