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News > World

Nigeria: Death Toll From Building Collapse Rises To 36

  • Rescuers work at the site of a building collapse in Lagos, Nigeria, Nov. 1, 2021.

    Rescuers work at the site of a building collapse in Lagos, Nigeria, Nov. 1, 2021. | Photo: Xinhua

Published 4 November 2021
Opinion

Building collapses are common in this African country due to the use of poor quality construction materials and inadequate government control of construction work in progress.

On Thursday, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Coordinator Ibrahim Farinloye announced that the death toll from a building collapse in Lagos City rose to 36 after more bodies were retrieved by rescuers from the debris.

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Between Wednesday and Thursday morning, over 10 dead bodies were pulled out of the rubble of the 21-story building under construction in the Ikoyi area of Lagos which collapsed on Monday afternoon.

"Out of the nine survivors, one was a female, and eight were males," Farinloye said, adding the rescue operation which kicked off on Monday was still continuing.

At least 50 construction workers were trapped in the building after it collapsed around 2 p.m. Monday. On that day, Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari offered condolences to the families of the victims and urged the authorities to intensify efforts in rescue operations.

Building collapses are common in this African country due to the use of poor quality construction materials and inadequate government control of construction work in progress. On this occasion, the regional authorities indicated that the construction company Fourscore Limited was only authorized to build 15 plants and carried out its plans without permission.

The Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu announced his administration is setting up an independent panel to probe the collapse with members from professional builders, town planners, structural engineers and legal practitioners.

"It will independently investigate the remote and immediate causes of the incident and make recommendations on how to prevent future occurrences. The investigation is not part of the internal probe already being conducted by the government," he said.

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