This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/africa/7532113.stm
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Fatal building collapse in Abuja | Fatal building collapse in Abuja |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| At least three people have been killed and 10 injured when a four-storey shopping centre under construction collapsed in Nigeria's capital, Abuja. | |
| Emergency workers are trying to rescue as many as 15 people believed to be buried beneath the rubble. | Emergency workers are trying to rescue as many as 15 people believed to be buried beneath the rubble. |
| Rescuers were talking to a trapped labourer by mobile phone but he is no longer answering their calls, rescuers said on Wednesday. | Rescuers were talking to a trapped labourer by mobile phone but he is no longer answering their calls, rescuers said on Wednesday. |
| The building site was due to become the capital's largest shopping centre. | The building site was due to become the capital's largest shopping centre. |
| "We were talking to a labourer by his mobile phone, but we have lost contact with him now, his phone rings and he doesn't answer," said Civil Defence Corps commander Ade Abolurin. | "We were talking to a labourer by his mobile phone, but we have lost contact with him now, his phone rings and he doesn't answer," said Civil Defence Corps commander Ade Abolurin. |
| The workers who survived had thrown themselves from the top floor of the wooden scaffolding, he said. | The workers who survived had thrown themselves from the top floor of the wooden scaffolding, he said. |
| One had suffered serious spinal injuries. | One had suffered serious spinal injuries. |
| Falling debris | Falling debris |
| Eyewitness Mustapha Murtala told the BBC that there were about 20 labourers working on the building as it collapsed. | Eyewitness Mustapha Murtala told the BBC that there were about 20 labourers working on the building as it collapsed. |
| There were others hawking food and water in the building at the time. | There were others hawking food and water in the building at the time. |
| Reuters news agency quoted police as saying the number of people was between 40 and 50. | |
| "There was a woman selling water in the building, she started screaming and the building collapsed," Mr Murtala said. | "There was a woman selling water in the building, she started screaming and the building collapsed," Mr Murtala said. |
| He said she was killed by falling debris. | He said she was killed by falling debris. |
| The BBC's Andrew Walker in Abuja says building collapses have been common in Nigeria. | The BBC's Andrew Walker in Abuja says building collapses have been common in Nigeria. |
| Two years ago the government promised to improve building regulations after hundreds were killed when a high-rise building collapsed in Nigeria's main city of Lagos. | Two years ago the government promised to improve building regulations after hundreds were killed when a high-rise building collapsed in Nigeria's main city of Lagos. |