Structural tests ordered after fatal Lagos building collapse

Yahoo – AFP, Chris Stein, 17 Sep 2014

A caterpillar tries to excavate rubble of the collapsed building in search of missing

 persons at the Ikotun headquarters of the Synagogue Church of All Nations in Lagos

on September 17, 2014 (AFP Photo/Pius Utomi Ekpei)

Lagos (AFP) - Engineers in Nigeria's financial capital, Lagos, on Wednesday ordered urgent structural tests to be carried out at a popular preacher's church after 70 people were killed in a building collapse.

The Lagos State Building Control Agency daubed red X-marks on buildings in the sprawling compound of televangelist TB Joshua's Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) in the city's Ikotun area.

Rescue workers clear the debris of a 

collapsed guesthouse of the Synagogue 

Church of All Nations at Ikotun in Lagos 

on September 17, 2014 (AFP Photo/Pius

Utomi Ekpei)

South Africa's President Jacob Zuma on Tuesday said 67 of his compatriots were killed when a guesthouse for Joshua's foreign followers collapsed at the site last Friday.

But rescuers said the death toll had since risen, as a hunt for survivors neared a close.

"We have to ask for the tests because of what has happened," LASBCA general manager Abimbola Animashaun told AFP at the scene, pointing to one building which had an extra three storeys added.

"This one has been overloaded," she said. "If a disaster can happen here, we don't want it to happen elsewhere."

The structural integrity inspections should take 10 days to complete before a report is submitted, she added.

According to Joshua's website, scoan.org, three of the church's previous buildings were destroyed before the new church -- described as an "architectural masterpiece" -- was built.

"There was only one architect involved in the planning -- the Holy Spirit," he said.

The preacher, known to his followers as "The Prophet" because of his purported visions and miracles, has not publicly commented on the deaths.

Instead he has tried to shift suspicion on to Boko Haram militants and a low-flying plane seen over the building before the collapse.

Since Friday, he has only posted a series of Bible verses on his Facebook page and Twitter account. On Tuesday night he tweeted: "Hard times may test me, they cannot destroy me."

Nigerian red cross workers gather at the scene of the collapsed church guesthouse

 of the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) in the Ikotun neighborhood in Lagos

on September 17, 2014 (AFP Photo/Pius Utomi Ekpei)

The investigation will look at Joshua's claim of low-flying aircraft, Lagos state commissioner for town planning and urban development Toyin Ayinde told Nigeria's Channels television.

Initial indications were that the building came down because extra floors were being added without strengthening the foundations and samples would be taken from the site, he added.

Rescue effort

Rescue workers were meanwhile picking through what remained of the guesthouse using excavators and even their bare hands in the hope of finding more survivors.

The southwest coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Ibrahim Farinloye, said the rescue operation was likely to end later on Wednesday.

"We have 70 dead, 131 rescued alive," he said. "Early this morning, we got two (bodies). Since day break we got three. Yesterday night we had two, making seven."

A woman was pulled alive from the building on Monday and escaped with minor injuries, fuelling hopes that others may yet be found alive.

"The challenges are coming much more, so we have to slow down our recovery," said Farinloye. "If we say we should rush or give time limits, definitely it would affect somebody or survivors."

Headquarters of the Synagogue Church of

 All Nations in the Ikotun neighborhood in 

Lagos on September 17, 2014 (AFP Photo/

Pius Utomi Ekpei)

There was a large police presence at the church and onlookers were moved away. A team from a Chinese engineering firm were seen on site helping rescuers.

The Lagos state government, NEMA and the South African authorities have all complained that Joshua, whose followers include top-level politicians and presidents, was not co-operating.

Rescuers were prevented from fully accessing the site until Sunday, raising fears that some of the victims could have been saved earlier.

Nigerians took to social media to voice their anger at the incident, arguing that Joshua should not be above the law.

Zuma said five South African church tour groups totalling about 300 people were thought to have been at the Pentecostal church at the time of the tragedy.

One South African travel agent, who asked not to be named, said some of the survivors flew back from Lagos on Sunday but were too distraught to recount their ordeal.

"It's a sensitive issue. They don't want to talk to anyone about what they saw. They are in shock, they are traumatised," he said.

North Jakarta slammed over fire safety

The Jakarta Post

The North Jakarta administration reported Wednesday that most buildings in the municipality lacked proper fire safety equipment.

According to the report, which was based on inspections carried out last year, 111 of 185 multistory buildings inspected in North Jakarta had inadequate fire safety facilities.

Most of the buildings did not have fire extinguishers, hydrants or sprinklers.

"Owners need to improve their awareness of this issue," said the head of monitoring at the municipality's fire department, Sumarlan, as quoted by Beritajakarta news portal.

He also said the lack of manpower in the fire department meant not all buildings received safety inspections every year.

He said there at least 500 multistory buildings in the municipality, but only 185 were inspected in 2007.

There were 181 fires reported in North Jakarta last year, from 132 in 2006. This figure includes several fires at multistory buildings.

'Dewatering' shares blame for city's water woes

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The unchecked construction of malls and high-rise apartment buildings could add to water shortages in the capital, an official said Wednesday during an impromptu visit to an apartment building in South Jakarta.

During construction, developers often use a process called dewatering to drain water from the ground, which may affect wells dug in residential areas, said Peni Susanti, head of the Jakarta Mining Agency.

Some of the extracted water is also not properly redirected, being sent toward sewers instead of being stored or utilized, she said.

"The city water supply is scarce, developers should not just be throwing it away," Peni said while inspecting Gandaria City, a mall and apartment building currently being constructed on Jl. Iskandar Muda.

During the inspection, officials from the mining agency found one spot where clean water was being redirected to sewers outside of the walled construction area.

"This will not do, it is a waste of clean water and you need to at least redirect the plumbing into an aquifer or a water storage facility," Peni told developers.

Construction workers are digging a basement for Gandaria City, which requires the groundwater to be extracted and redirected.

Peni said any water extracted during the dewatering process should be stored and reused later.

After the site was inspected last year, 10 pipes were installed to recharge water back into the ground, according to Indramawan, a representative for the developer of Gandaria City.

Dewatering could also affect the surrounding community as the process drains groundwater with a certain radius, usually 40 to 50 meters depending on the technology,

Imam Sudjono, head of groundwater control subdivision at the mining agency, said Wednesday's inspection was done in response to complaints from residents who were having trouble finding groundwater.

"I've received complaints from people saying they can't find water even after drilling wells as deep as 15 meters," he said.

Gandaria was not the only high-rise development reprimanded for wasting extracted groundwater during construction.

Earlier Wednesday, officials from the mining agency visited an apartment building currently being constructed at Rasuna Epicentrum, South Jakarta. Imam told the developer to obtain a permit for using the drained water.

Imam said agency officials planned to inspect other high-rise developments in Sunter, Kelapa Gading and Mangga Dua in North Jakarta.

High-rise buildings are heavy users of groundwater, reducing groundwater elevation by up to two to five meters a year in the city, according to data provided by the agency. (anw)