AKINWALE ABOLUWADE
A woman has died after falling into a 170-foot well at a construction site in the Ijegun area of Lagos.
Her remains were recovered by operatives of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service following a prolonged multi-agency operation that lasted several days.
The incident occurred on June 30 at a building site on Abuba Anthony Street, near Obalagbe Bus Stop, close to Fadeko International Hotel. According to the agency’s Senior Public Affairs Officer, Maria Fadairo, the distress call was received around 7:34 pm that day.
Emergency responders from the Ejigbo Fire Station arrived to discover that the victim had plunged into a deep well located at the front of a one-storey building still under construction. The structure reportedly comprises six two-bedroom flats within a fenced 648-square-metre compound.
Due to the depth of the well and the complexity of the situation, a coordinated rescue and recovery operation was launched involving multiple emergency agencies. The woman’s lifeless body was eventually retrieved on Thursday, July 10.
“The victim was recovered dead and handed over to officials of SEHMU, while the Lagos State Ambulance Service was on standby and the Nigeria Police monitored the operation,” the statement added.
The Director of the Lagos State Fire Service, Margaret Adeseye, extended her condolences to the family and stressed the need for safety compliance at construction sites. She described the uncovered well as a “severe hazard that must never be left unsecured.”
The case has been handed over to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti, for further investigation.
