By George Okojie
A yet-to-be-identified drainage worker with the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) was on Monday trapped in the underground drainage at the Onipanu area of Lagos State.
The Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Dr. Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu who confirmed the incident said the agency had activated the state’s emergency response operations from its Onipanu Base to rescue the trapped man.
Oke-Osanyintolu said, “Upon arrival of the emergency responders at the incident scene, investigations revealed that an adult male de-silting drainages along that axis in attempts to clear a blocked portion, accessed the underground tunnel and got trapped.
‘’Further investigation at the incident scene revealed that the man was a drain ducks worker employed by LAMATA, while trying to dislodge and evacuate debris from the underground drainage unfortunately got trapped in between the tunnel.’’
Oke-Osanyintolu explained that in conducting the search and rescue operation, LASEMA response team and all emergency responders were working together assiduously to rescue the trapped victim from inside the underground drainage which commenced at 16:25hrs.
“In order to hasten positive results, sophisticated equipment has been deployed in the penetrative of the manhole to save the worker’s life, while strategic efforts have also been employed to block off, and divert inflow of water from the Ilupeju axis so reduce the volume of underground fluids,” Dr Oke-Osanyintolu said.
He said that search and rescue operation was still ongoing, adding that the officials of the Lagos Fire and Rescue Service, Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI) and Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) were working together to rescue the trapped worker.
