Boy who died in building collapse told his mother he didn’t want to go to school

Report say a boy who died in the Lagos collapsed school building told his mother he didn’t want to go to school on the day of the incident because it was his birthday.

The building in which his school was collapsed on Wednesday trapping over 50 people. 41 were rescued alive yesterday when search operations took place, however some dead bodies were recovered.

One of the parents who became an emergency worker overnight said:

“I have rescued my five-year-old son, he survived; now I’m here to help others but the LASEMA officials are making things very difficult and slow.”

He added that another child killed in the accident might have been alive had events gone another way.

“Today is the boy’s birthday; he said he didn’t want to go to school because it’s his birthday but his mother insisted.
He was among those that first died.”

Another said:

“A woman couldn’t afford fees so she came to beg in the morning but the proprietor turned her back with her child; she has just heard what happened and is thanking God.”

One story which seemed very consistent among the crowd at the scene of the incident and at the hospital is that of a woman who has about 15 to 20 (depending on who’s telling the story) kids with her and who are all trapped in rubble.

They all said the woman was able to call someone on the phone to give a picture of things in the rubble but warned that she may run out of phone battery soon.