Families get bodies of victims of collapsed Ikoyi building this week

The Lagos State government says it will start releasing the corpses recovered from last week's building collapse to their families.

The 21-storey building, one of three luxury high rise buildings under construction in Ikoyi, collapsed on Monday, November 1, 2021, trapping dozens of people.

15 people were rescued alive from under the rubble, but 43 people have been brought out dead in an ongoing recovery operation.

The state's Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, said on Tuesday, November 9 the identification of bodies is ongoing at IDH, Yaba.

He said families that can clearly identify their loved ones will get them this week, but those that don't might face a longer wait.

At least 29 families have submitted DNA samples to identify bodies they wish to claim.

A committee made up of senior officials from the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Justice has been set up to supervise the identification and release of the bodies.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu announced last week that the state was willing to support families of the deceased with burial costs.

Survivors were also promised financial support 'to help them settle and cope with challenges of feeding'.

Omotoso said on Tuesday that recovery operations will continue at the site until the rubble is completely cleared.

"It will go on until the site is cleared and no body is left in the rubble of the collapsed 21-storey edifice," he said.

Governor Sanwo-Olu inaugurated a six-member panel last week to investigate the collapse.

The committee has started sitting and is collecting documents that may help unravel circumstances surrounding the incident, Omotoso said.