This is just as 450 shops, 30 offices, two hotels, and five restaurants were destroyed by the impact of the fire which affected the 14-storey building.

The Lagos State Coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency, Ibrahim Farinloye, disclosed this in a statement on Monday.

The Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service disclosed that careless welding during the installation of a power generator on the second floor of the Mandilas building in Lagos led to the fire incident.

The fire reportedly started from the first floor of the building and spread to the seventh floor.

Farinloye stated that, “The impacted traders are estimated to accommodate about 6,700 traders, 450 shops, 30 offices, two hotels, and five restaurants, according to the Iya Oja of the  Atunwase International Market Mandilas General, Alhaja Adeniji Rashidat, who briefed the assessors.

“The fire which started at about 0011 hours began at the first floor where an alleged wielding activity was going on.

“It was alleged that the people around did not notice the fire until it was too late before the fire service was contacted. The fire, also, spread to surrounding market stalls at the Atunwase International Market with equal extensive damage as the main complex.”

Meanwhile, our correspondent who monitored activities at the scene of the fire observed some of the traders lamenting the huge losses they incurred from the fire incident.

Some of the traders were reluctant to speak to the media, stressing that they were not in the right frame of mind as a result of the loss they suffered in the incident.

However, some who spoke disclosed that the loss could not be quantified as many traders had reportedly lost their life savings to the fire.

A trader who identified herself as Sewa lamented the impact of the fire which she claimed had left her devastated.

“I sell clothes in this building and my goods were affected. I can’t even quantify the loss that I have incurred from this incident. I am devastated at this moment. Do you know how many goods have been lost to this fire?” Sewa asked.

Another trader who did not want his name in print disclosed that the lack of access road for the firefighters’ truck to access the incident scene earlier led to the devastating effect of the fire.

The source said, “The fire started from a welding point where construction was going on to attach a new structure to the building. When we noticed the fire and the fire service came, they could not access the main area where the fire was at its highest because the road leading to the spot where the fire started was narrow.

“By the time they were able to contain the fire, it had spread to the 7th floor with several goods getting destroyed inclusive of mine. I cannot even be talking about the loss. One of us, Agu, lost goods worth almost a billion naira. He owns an entire floor in this building. His (Agu) brother’s store was also affected.”

Also, a trader identified as Badmus, in a WhatsApp status sighted by our correspondent, disclosed that he lost goods estimated at N200m to the fire incident.

The message read in part, “We were deeply affected by the fire as I lost all the stock in my warehouse of more than 7,000 shoes estimated to be N200,000,000 and all the documents in my office including deals I’ve not concluded yet.

“I am someone who believes everything happens for a reason, but this is a lot to comprehend. Will Badmus Store bounce back? Sure, it will, if our customers stick with us.”

Emergency responders including men of the Lagos Fire Service, Police, Lagos State Building Control Agency, and Lagos Neighbourhood Safety Corps were sighted at the scene of the incident controlling the situation and movement around the building.

According to findings by our correspondent, the hospital elevator that killed the late Diaso crashed from the 10th floor to the ground floor.

It was also gathered that the late doctor was rushed to the emergency ward of the hospital for treatment but eventually died.

A colleague of Diaso, who craved anonymity, told our correspondent that the elevator had malfunctioned several times before now.

“On multiple occasions, the elevator has stopped while we were inside. And there’s no maintenance,” he said.

He also told our correspondent that the hospital management was aware of the poor state of the elevator but failed to act.

“We report every time. The elevator is supposed to carry 630kg maximum, that’s eight people.”

The Director, Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, Margaret Adeseye, confirmed the incident in a statement on Monday.

She stated that the agency would commence an investigation into the cause of the incident, adding that no death or injury had been recorded in the incident.

Adeseye said, “The Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service is currently putting out a fire incident at 34, Idumagbo Avenue, Obun Eko, Lagos.

The agency, which was alerted at 12:31 pm on Monday, mobilised the Ebute Elefun and Oniru fire stations to stop the raging fire at the three story-penthouse building.

“The fire which happened at a warehouse on the third floor of the building which stocked towels, bedspread, tape rules among others, with a commercial bank on the ground floor.

“The Lagos firefighters being complemented by sister agencies have been able to subdue the fire to the third floor and the penthouse it had spread to while saving the bank and other floors as well as adjoining structures. There has been no reported case of injury nor death as investigation into the cause will ensue immediately.”

The Federal Controller of Works in Lagos, Mr. Olukayode Popoola disclosed this during an interview with the newsmen on Monday.

According to him, consultations were on for another phase of repair works to commence on the Third Mainland Bridge. 

“We want to do maintenance work on the Third Mainland Bridge very soon. Most likely on the 24th. We may close it from the 24th of July.

“We are still working out the modalities and when we perfect the traffic management plan we will move to site. “Everything being expected for the repairs of the bridge arrived the country that is why we want to start the repairs now,’’ he said.

The 11.8km bridge which has gone through series of rehabilitation works was last closed for repairs in August 2018 for 3 days of investigative maintenance check. 

Thereafter, some components needed for completion of repairs were sourced abroad because they were not available locally. 

NAN reports that the bridge which has gone through series of rehabilitation works was last shut in August 2018 for a three days investigative maintenance check.

Thereafter, some components needed for completion of repairs were sourced abroad because they were not available locally.

The Third Mainland Bridge is the longest of three bridges connecting Lagos Island to the mainland. 

The bridge starts from Oworonshoki which is linked to the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway and the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and ends at the Adeniji Adele Interchange on Lagos Island. 

It was opened for use in 1990 and was the longest in Africa until 1996 when The 6th October Bridge in Cairo was completed. 

Boss Mustapha who was represented by the Permanent Secretary (General Services Office), Olusegun Adekunle, listed the local government areas as follows; Mainland, Abuja Municipal, Mushin, Eti-Osa, Tarauni, Katsina, Alimosho, Maiduguri, Kosofe, Dutse, Ikeja, Nassarawa, Oshodi/Isolo, Apapa, Amuwo Odofin, Oredo, Bauchi, Lagos Island, Surulere and Ado Odo/Ota.

Mustapha said “We want to sensitise Nigerians on the dangers of this development. We urge Rotary to help us take the awareness further. The risk management team is available to share a strategy with the organisation. The ravaging effect of COVID-19 pandemic was there for everyone to see, including the impact on both governance and the economy. It is for us to strategise for a new way of life. A good number of staff have not been at work for the past four months. The impact of this on the economy is glaring. The fatality rate is quite high. We keep telling Nigerians that please these are not just numbers, but brothers, sisters and colleagues that have passed on. Some groups and clubs have been trying hard for us to control this. The resources needed to fight the virus are enormous”

At the time of filling in the report on Wednesday morning, it was gathered that the fire is yet to be put out finally and it was spreading to other buildings with firefighters and other rescue team battling to curtail it from causing further damages.

The death of the policeman was announced late evening, through the twitter handle of Rapid Response Squad, RRS, @rrslagos767.

The tweet reads: “We are still at the scene of the fire incident. Though it has reduced to a reasonable extent, Efforts are still on to put it out completely. Partial building collapse occurred during the process which claimed the life a policeman from a nearby division.”

It was also gathered that another unidentified victim had earlier been killed in the explosion that triggered the fire earlier in the morning. The death could not be confirmed at press time.

Meanwhile, the Director-General of Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA, Dr Femi Oke-Osantyintolu, confirmed that a simultaneous fire incident was also reported at a building in the nearby Dosunmu market, but had already been put out by firefighters.

“At the time of this report, an additional fire truck had arrived at the scene of the Balogun market fire to complement the efforts of the men battling the fire. “Fire also broke out on the other building on the right to the first building at 6 am. LASEMA heavy-duty equipment excavator and low deployed to the fire point at 6.13 am Wednesday.

“Lagos State Fire Service has assessed the fire but can’t risk going up for safety purposes.

“Union Bank Fire service has been contacted for back up to assist with their skylift fire truck. Recovery operation still ongoing as at 8 am.”