The Nigeria Police authorities on Monday, September 15 announced that sniffer dogs were deployed to Prophet T. B. Joshua’s Synagogue Church of All Nations, SCOAN in Ikotun area of Lagos where a building collapsed on Friday, September 12, 2014.
The sniffer dogs were meant to assist rescue workers locate the exact positions of trapped victims, but to everyone’s dismay, the handlers arrived the scene without the special breed canines.
According to the police, the vehicle conveying the dogs to the scene was said to have broken down midway, thereby depriving rescue operators of their use.
The South-West Spokesman of the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, Ibrahim Farinloye, said; ‘’All things being equal, the rescue operation will be concluded by say 2.00pm tomorrow (Today).’’
So far, the death toll has risen to 49, with the recovery of additional five dead bodies between 5am and 5.35pm on Monday.
Meanwhile, a little mishap occurred on Monday during the course of search and rescue, electrical items under the debris resulted in a fire outbreak, according to the Lagos State Fire Service.
‘’The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State ordered the release of five dogs after a collective decision to use dogs by responding agencies.
‘’NEMA has requested the Police Disaster Unit to manage the dogs. The dogs were to assist in search and rescue faster and help early conclusion of the operations”, Farinloye said.
