41 Dead in Building Collapse at Church Compound in Nigeria
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Version 0 of 1. LAGOS, Nigeria — The number of people killed in the collapse of a guest house under construction at the Lagos headquarters of one of Nigeria’s best-known Christian evangelical pastors rose to 41 on Sunday, rescuers said, as they worked to clear the wreckage. The five-story building in the Ikotun neighborhood of Lagos collapsed on Friday, and Ibrahim Farinloye, a spokesman for Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency, said about 130 people had been pulled out alive with various injuries. Local media showed a mound of flattened concrete and twisted steel wires at the compound belonging to the Synagogue Church of All Nations, which is headed by T. B. Joshua, who has followers around the world. On Friday after the collapse, members of the church at first prevented emergency officials from joining the rescue effort, making it difficult to establish a toll for the dead and injured. But state rescuers were allowed in on Saturday. “We’re still working at the site,” said Mr. Farinloye, adding that he expected the operation would extend into Monday. There was no immediate explanation for the collapse. Emergency services officials said the lower two floors of the building had already been operating as a guest house, and it appeared that construction work was underway to add three more floors. |