At least 10 dead in Lagos High-Hise Office Imolding Fire

At least ten people died and 25 others injured after a fire broke out in a high -rise building in Lagos, the commercial capital of Nigeria.

Videos on social networks on Tuesday showed that the occupants of the seven -story Afriland Tours jumped third and fourth floors when the fire started.

The victims were commercial workers who were trapped inside the building, which welcome most of the city’s commercial companies and organizations.

Most of the survivors have suffered burns and fracture injuries while trying to escape, while others had a respiratory distress of smoke inhalation.

The authorities claim that the occupants have become disoriented due to the rapid spread of smoke and the lack of clear evacuation guides, and the desperate occupants broke windows to jump, causing serious trauma.

Chukwuemeka Eze, a merchant who witnessed the incident, told the BBC: “It was frightening, some jumped up there, many people inside were so afraid to jump, we had a wooden ladder to help them.”

In a press release, the Emergency Management Agency of the State of Lagos (Lasema) said that the fire, which lasted hours, began in the basement of the building where the electrical equipment was installed.

The agency said it suspected that the cause was poor interview and inadequate ventilation in the inverter battery area, which caused overheating and combustion.

The declaration added “there was the absence of mechanical smoke extraction systems, which allowed smoke to migrate without control. Public address systems did not work and there was an inadequate signaling, this aggravated the confusion”.

“The building was designed with sealed windows. The installation and buildings of buildings also inhaled from smoke and passed out during the incident leaving no incidence or security guard,” added the press release.

Lasema said he had turned off the fire after a few hours, but thick black smoke traveled throughout the building.

The president of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu, described the incident as unhappy and compatible with the families of the deceased victims.

Nigeria Federal Fire Service said it launched an investigation to establish the causes of the incident, including the state of security systems, maintenance practices and compliance with fire safety regulations. The results will be made public and all the recommendations will be implemented, the service added.