Emergency responders on Monday battled to save the life of a man trapped in an underground drainage in the Onipanu area of Lagos State.
The rescue operation started around 4:25p.m.
According to the Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, upon receiving a distress call, the agency activated the state’s emergency response plans from its Onipanu base.
He said the investigation revealed that the drainage worker was trying to dislodge and evacuate debris from the underground drainage when he got trapped in between the tunnel.
“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,” the statement read in part,” Osanyintolu said.
He added that sophisticated equipment has been deployed to rescue the trapped drainage worker who works with the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA).
“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.
“Search and rescue operation is still ongoing,” Osanyintolu added.