Two male adults have been confirmed dead after their bodies were recovered from the rubble of the Great Nigeria Insurance House Plaza, a 25-storey commercial building gutted by fire at the Balogun Market area of Lagos Island, Lagos State.
The inferno, which broke out on Wednesday, reportedly started on the fourth floor of the building before spreading to the sixth floor and eventually engulfing several other floors as well as adjoining structures. Amid the raging fire, a detached section of the plaza collapsed, trapping traders who were attempting to salvage their goods.
According to PUNCH online report, an official of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, who spoke on Friday on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the two bodies were recovered during ongoing search-and-rescue operations.
“We recovered two bodies today. The first was at about 11:03am, while the second was found around 12:03pm,” the official disclosed, adding that rescue efforts were still ongoing.
A video obtained by PUNCH Online showed emergency responders carefully retrieving the corpses from the debris before placing them in body bags.
While the identities of the deceased have yet to be officially confirmed by authorities, a trader, Zacchaeus Afolayan, identified one of the victims as a market assistant who was helping traders evacuate their goods when the structure gave way.
“One of them was among the boys assisting traders. He was helping people move their goods when the building collapsed on him,” Afolayan said.
Concerns remain high that more traders may still be trapped beneath the collapsed section of the plaza. Among those feared trapped is a China-based cloth merchant identified simply as Obum, alongside several other traders.
Afolayan recalled that Obum was in the process of evacuating his merchandise when the weakened structure collapsed on his shop.
“His store is behind the plaza. He had almost moved everything out when he went back to carry the last items. That was when the detached part of the plaza, already weakened by fire, collapsed,” he explained.
According to Afolayan, Obum managed to make contact from beneath the rubble in the early hours of Thursday, confirming that he was alive and not alone.
“He called me around 2am from under the rubble. He was begging us not to let him die, saying no one would take care of his children. He lives in China and only comes home during festive periods to do business,” he said.
Afolayan added that Obum, an indigene of Umuoji in Anambra State, called again later on Thursday afternoon but sounded noticeably weaker.
Another trader, who identified himself simply as Charles, said at least two other traders were also believed to be trapped under the debris.
“As I speak with you, two people have called from under the rubble. One man’s relatives just arrived from Onitsha after he called to say he was trapped. Another person also said his brother called him, including one Obum,” he said.
The incident has once again highlighted the persistent menace of market fires on Lagos Island, where recurring infernos have destroyed goods worth several millions of naira annually, raising concerns over safety standards, emergency preparedness, and enforcement of building regulations in densely populated commercial hubs.
