Death toll in Nigeria story building collapse rises to 36

By Olarewaju Kola

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AA) – The death toll in the under-construction multi-story building collapse in Lagos, Nigeria's economic capital, has risen to 36, a senior emergency department official said.

Ibrahim Farinloye, the head of the National Emergency Management Agency’s (NEMA) Lagos Office, told Anadolu Agency that 20 bodies have been found from the debris of a 21-story under-construction building in Lagos' high-end Ikoyi neighborhood since Wednesday morning.

The search for survivors of the building's abrupt collapse on Monday evening continued as area residents informed the rescue teams that around 50 people were working on the site every day and could have been trapped under the debris of bricks and twisted iron.

According to the official, 36 bodies have been retrieved and nine persons, including a woman, have been rescued so far.

Rescue workers on Thursday continued their search for survivors trapped under the building ruins, but no one was found alive.

Lagos Governor Babaji Sanwo-Olu on Wednesday during his visit to the site announced the constitution of a panel to probe the cause of the collapsed building. Experts in urban planning, civil engineers, and bureaucrats make up the investigation panel.

Gbenga Omotoso, the commissioner for information and strategy, had earlier announced the suspension of the state-building control agency's head.

Incidents of collapse buildings are common in Lagos, a city grappling with a population explosion, a housing shortage, limited land for new constructions, and weak law enforcement.