A school in central Nigeria collapsed on Friday, killing at least 21 people, most of them students taking exams, the Red Cross and witnesses said.
People and rescuers gather at the scene of a collapsed two-story building in Jos, Nigeria, Friday, July 12, 2024. (Associated Press) {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}}
An AFP correspondent at the scene said pupils trapped under the rubble cried out for help and parents frantically searched for their children after the school building at St. Academy in the Jos North area of Plateau state collapsed along with its classrooms.
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Rescue workers used heavy machinery to pull victims free, and images from the scene showed crowds gathering around collapsed concrete buildings and piles of rubble.
“21 people were killed and 69 were injured, all of whom have been admitted to different hospitals,” Red Cross spokesman Nuruddin Hussein Magaji told AFP.
Earlier, AFP had identified 16 bodies in two hospital morgues in Jos, all wearing school uniforms.
“I hadn’t even entered the classroom for five minutes when I heard the noise and then I came to my senses and found myself here,” injured student Uriya Ibrahim, 15, told AFP, as his mother watched over his hospital bedside.
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“There are a lot of students in the class and they are taking exams,” he said.
Earlier, the National Emergency Management Agency said the two-storey building housing Saint Academy had collapsed, killing “several students”.
Chika Obioha, a resident at the scene, told AFP he found at least eight bodies at the scene and dozens more were injured.
“Everybody is pitching in to see if we can rescue more people,” he said.
An AFP correspondent identified 11 bodies at the mortuary of Bingham University Teaching Hospital, while five bodies had been taken to the mortuary at Our Lady of Apostles Hospital in Jos.
At least 15 rescued students and injured students were admitted, according to officials at Our Lady of the Apostles Hospital.
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Officials at Bingham University Teaching Hospital declined to comment.
The cause of the collapse was not immediately clear, but residents said it happened after three days of heavy rains.
“We are devastated by the tragic loss of a young life at Saint Academy,” Christian Munduate, UNICEF Nigeria representative, wrote to X.
“Children full of dreams were taking their exams when the school building collapsed. Our hearts go out to the affected families.”
Construction disasters are fairly common in Africa’s most populous country due to lax enforcement of building codes, negligence and the use of low-quality materials.
In 2021, a high-rise building under construction collapsed in the upscale Ikoyi area of Lagos, Nigeria’s economic capital, killing at least 45 people.
The following year, a three-storey building collapsed in the Ebute Metta area of Lagos, killing 10 people.
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At least 152 buildings have collapsed in Lagos since 2005, according to researchers at a South African university who study building disasters.
They are often accused of poor craftsmanship, low-quality materials and corruption to avoid official scrutiny.
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