Recovery Operation Ends At TB Joshua’s Synagogue As Death Remains 80

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Latest Headlines Friday, September 19th, 2014

Rescue operation has ended at site of the collapsed 6-storey building at the Synagogue Church of All Nations, with death toll remaining at 80 with 131 people rescued alive.

Spokesperson, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Ibrahim Farinloye said the operation ended on Thursday, as everybody trapped have been taken out of the rubble with 80 dead and 131 survivors.

Farinloye said the remaining activities at the scene of the collapsed building would be investigation into the cause, saying relevant state agency would be left with the investigation.

He stated that the identification of the body would be carried out to ensure that there is no mixed up in the release of the bodies to the relatives and countries whose citizens died in the incident.

Some of the church buildings were also marked for demolition by the Lagos State Building Control Agency, LASBCA but the General Manager, LASEMA, Dr Oke-Osanyintolu said the marks on the walls of the church buildings was an indication that investigation had commenced on the buildings suspected to have no evidence of approval by the government.

Briefing journalists on the conclusion of rescue operation by emergency agencies, Dr Osanyintolu said the agencies had finished their rescue operation at the site, saying the number of the dead bodies evacuated from the rubbles of the collapsed structure were 80 while 131 occupants of the ill-fated structure survived the tragic incident.

“One of our major challenges is that we don’t have the roll call of the people in the building before the unfortunate incidents. However, we have been working with the top echelon of the Synagogue Church of all Nations to get the list.

“We have reached ground zero and there is nobody in the place again. We used our equipment called Denser to locate and ascertain that no more bodies under the rubble and we have also reached the ground zero,” he said.

When further asked to comment on South African Ambassador’s claim on the numbers of dead victims as presented by the church authority, Osanyintolu said: “Are the church members performing the rescue operation? Was the South African Ambassador at the rescue site?

“The church people are not the one performing the rescue operation, we are the one and we talking based on our experience. We have personnel of NEMA, Fire Service, police from disaster unit are here, Red Cross are also here. The total bodies are 80 and the rescue persons are 131.”