Synagogue Building Collapse: “I Drank My Urine To Survive- South African Woman Shares Experience

For five days Ndwandwe says she was trapped inside a toilet next to the dining hall of the collapsed Synagogue Church of All Nations, breathing only through a small hole in the wreckageâ. 



 

In a short interview with Associated Press, a 33-year-old woman tearfully recounted the horrible event which occurred September 12 at theSynagogue Church Of All Nations (SCOAN).

Lindiwe Ndwandwe said she was lying in the rubble of the guest house and was only able to tell if it was morning or evening through a tiny crack.

She told reporters the screams of people who were trapped in the debris slowly turned silent.

For five days Ndwandwe says she was trapped inside a toilet next to the dining hall of the collapsed Synagogue Church of All Nations, breathing only through a small hole in the wreckage.

As a means of survival, she was forced to drink her own urine.

She said: “It’s like a dream to me that really, it’s me that came out from here,” the South African told reporters on Saturday as she surveyed the remains of the church in the Nigerian city of Lagos.

“I don’t believe it. The tears that I cry, it’s because I don’t believe.”

A total of 90 people were reported to have died and 131 people rescued from the collapsed building.

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Photos from President Jonathan's visit to Synagogue yesterday

Pres. Jonathan visited the site of the Synagogue Church of All Nations building collapse yesterday where he commiserated with T.B Joshua and families of victims. Speaking to newsmen after the inspection, the president said there will be an investigation into the circumstances that led to the collapse of the building which has killed at least 86 people and injured 131 so far, most of them South Africans. He said measures will be put in place to check the illegal erection of high rise buildings in the country. See more photos after the cut...

 







 

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Synagogue Church Building Collapse: 45 Year Old Woman Walks out of Rubble Alive Death Toll At Synagogue Church Hits 59

Reports just coming in inform that the number of dead bodies so far recovered from the debris of the collapsed six-storey building at Synagogue Church of All Nations, SCOAN, in Ikotun area of Lagos, southwest Nigeria have hit 57.

According to a report published by P.M.NEWS on Tuesday, 16 September, 2014, rescue workers recovered eight dead bodies on Monday night while two more bodies were pulled out of the debris Tuesday morning, the fourth day since the collapse happened.

It was also gathered that a 45-year old woman was rescued alive from the site of the building that collapsed last Friday, 12 September, 2014.

According to reports, the woman was said to have walked out of the collapsed building Tuesday morning hale and hearty, after spending three days under the rubble.

Meanwhile, rescue teams at the scene of the building collapse include men of  the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Rapid Response Squad and Lagos State Fire Service.

SEE ALSO: Video Of Synagogue Church Building Collapse

While speaking with newsmen Tuesday morning, spokesperson of NEMA, Ibrahim Farinloye said: “The total number of death so far has risen to 57 while those rescued alive are now 131 as the rescue operation continues.

“A woman of about 45 years old walked out of the debris on her own around 2.00am today (Tuesday) and 10 more bodies  have been recovered.”

He added that more dead bodies were likely to be recovered, saying: “We are deploying the police sniffer dogs to assist in locating trapped victims as we are getting close to the area suspected to have more people trapped. The Lagos State Commissioner of Police has ordered the  release of the dogs.”

Farinloye stated that the dogs would assist in the search-and-rescue and also in early conclusion of their operations.

A visit to the scene where the building collapse scene on Tuesday morning revealed rescue teams were busy breaking the rubble to bring out the corpses of the victims still trapped there.

It would be recalled that officials of the Lagos State Government have said the collapsed building was not approved.

Also on Sunday, NEMA officials stated that authorities at the Synagogue Church are not allowing to do their job.

According to a statement released by the emergency agency, some church members of the Synagogue attacked some of their workers which resulted into many of  the first responders to run away for their own safety.

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Police to deploy sniffer dogs to help locate trapped victims at Synagogue building collapse site

 



 

 

 



 

The Nigeria police say they will be sending sniffer dogs to the collapsed Synagogue building site to help search for victims who are believed to still be trapped under the rubble. As of today, the death toll has risen to 45 with 130 survivors.

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Synagogue Church: We Issued No Approval For Additional Structure - LASG

 After Fridays sad collapse of the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) building at Ikotun Lagos, officials of the Lagos State Government have said the building did not have approval for additional structures.

When the horrid collapse occurred on Friday, 17 people were reported to have lost their lives, but officials have confirmed the loss of 44 innocent souls in the collapse.

As rescue continues,it is said that many might still be underneath the rubble.

The church has officially declined to comment on the number of dead and insisting no one died in the collapse.

Lagos state governor, Babtunde Raji Fashola paid a visit to the scene yesterday and has demanded for a total inquiry into the mysterious collapse.

[caption id="attachment_1802" align="aligncenter" width="800"] 13 Fulani Herdsmen Killed In Taraba[/caption]

However, Government officials have said that they did not give the Synagogue Church of All Nations approval to add additional stuctures on top of the original plan.

Part of Fashola’s entourage to the scene, Commissioner for Physical Planning Olutoyin Ayinde demanded that the church’s engineers have been asked to present their permit to add additional structures on top of the collapsed building.

He said: “Our meeting with the prophet was a closed-door meeting but it surrounds the collapsed building. It is a sad situation; lives have been lost and many others have been rescued.
“We use this opportunity to express our sympathy to the affected people.

We have no proof that the church had permit to add to the existing structure. We have asked the engineering team to meet us and for about two hours now, no member of the team has come.

“We also have questions for them. Even if the building does not have approval, it ought to be built professionally. We have asked for their team and we hope in the course of the week, they would get to us.

“It is necessary to take the final inventory before we can say the number of people affected. Right now, we do not know how many people are involved. When a final inventory has been taken, the ministry of special duties will take a decision as regards relieve,” he said.

When asked if the Lagos State Government had already made plans to seal the surrounding premise, Ayinde said: “There are no plans for that yet until investigation as to the cause of the collapse has been concluded.

“I have said I have no proof of a permit. Maybe they have one and are yet to show us. We will give them the opportunity to defend themselves and action can only be taken after investigation has been concluded.”

Also Lagos State Building Control Agency, Mrs. Abimbola Animashaun revealed that the church had no approval.

She said: “We have investigated and found that they had no approval for the additional structures. Even the main church, which they have added about three floors on, was sealed two days ago, but it is now open.

”You cannot have an existing building and start putting up more buildings on it. Before you can do anything like that, you must confirm that the structure is still stable and can stand additional buildings.”

Accordin to the Nation, the collapsed building had only been approved to have only three storeys, but engineers had added an extra three storeys and due to this, the building has been vibrating for some time now.

It is said that over 200 people who were in the building most of these individuals eat in the basement while labor workers were on the sixth floor.

READ ALSO: TB Joshua Video: Details Moment Building Collapsed

National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Red Cross, medical personnel from the state and federal governments and Lagos State Building Inspection Agency are still at the site and working on the rescue mission.

Laborers on the sixth floor were said to be cutting rods, planning on making another floor.

The officials have rescued already about 130 people alive and 44 dead from the sixth floor and the basement, both floors are the only areas the workers have been able to access.

NEMA’s Southwest spokesman, Ibrahim Farinloye said: “We were able to work overnight and so, as at now (6pm), we have 130 rescued alive and 44 dead. Nobody can say what caused the collapse. But from the footage shown to me, where all the foundation of the building was shaking before it caved in, it could have been caused by the additional structure.
“Investigations will confirm what really happened. You can see that some of the beams and blocks are still intact. So, some of the permutations cannot be ruled out.
“We are working on worst case scenario that the foundation might have been weakened, which would have led to the collapse.”

A guest house belonging to the Synagogue Church in Ikotun, Lagos had collapsed last Friday, September 12, 2014.

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) confirmed the death of 44 people after the building collapsed.

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