LAGOS, Sept 5 — The death toll in a building collapse in Nigeria’s commercial capital Lagos rose to five on Monday after three more bodies were pulled out from the debris, the emergency service said.
Two people were found yesterday while more were trapped after the seven-storey structure under construction crumbled in Lagos, the sprawling city of more than 20 million inhabitants.
It was the latest building tragedy in Africa’s most populous nation where many reside in dilapidated structures and construction safety regulations are often ignored.
“Another three bodies have been extricated from the rubble, bringing the fatalities to five,” the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) said in a statement.
The agency said its operatives had been working with other rescue officials “for over 24 hours” at the site of the tragedy.
“The painstaking process is ongoing,” it added, suggesting more bodies could still be found.
It was not exactly clear how many people were trapped at the time of the collapse in an upscale commercial district of the city.
No reason was given for the collapse.
Enforcement of safety regulations and use of shoddy materials have been highlighted since November last year after a high-rise building under construction collapsed in the Ikoyi district of Lagos, killing at least 45 people.
Since 2005, at least 152 buildings have collapsed in Lagos, according to a South African university researcher investigating construction disasters.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has called for improved construction standards, describing the frequent building collapses “increasingly embarrassing”. — AFP
