At least 10 children have been confirmed dead after a building collapsed in Lagos, Nigeria on Wednesday.
Ibrahmi Farinloye, spokesman of the National Emergency Management Agency confirmed that many more people were feared to be still trapped within the rabble. According to Reuters, this figure of those trapped could be about 100.
The collapsed building was in the Ita-faji area of Lagos island and was a residential block containing a number of apartments, and the school, which was attended by about 100 children.
Weak enforcement of regulations and poor construction materials used in buildings has meant that Nigeria is frequently hit by building collapses. In 2016, more than 100 people were killed when a church came down in southeastern Nigeria. A five-storey building, still under construction, collapsed in the same year killing at least 30 people. Two years prior to that, 116 people died when a six-storey building collapsed in Lagos during a church service.
The building, which collapsed, had been identified as ‘distressed’ and listed for demolition according to building officials.
About 40 children have already been pulled out of the rubble, with efforts ongoing to rescue more.
