LAGOS - Many people including children
were feared trapped on Wednesday after a building containing a
school collapsed in Nigeria's commercial capital Lagos, an
emergency agency spokesman said, as rescue efforts began.
Ibrahim Farinloye, spokesman for the National Emergency
Management Agency's southwest region, said there was no
immediate information on any casualties.
"It is believed that many people including children are
currently trapped in the building," he said.
"The third floor of the building is housing a private school
in the area," said Farinloye, adding that the three-storey
building came down at around 10 a.m. local time.
Workers on top of the rubble shovelled debris away as
thousands of people swarmed around the rescue site -- dozens
watching from rooftops and hundreds more packed into the
surrounding streets, according to a Reuters reporter.
The building was in the Ita-faji area of Lagos island, the
original heart of the lagoon city before it expanded onto the
mainland.
Nigeria is frequently hit by building collapses, with weak
enforcement of regulations and poor construction materials often
used. In 2016, more than 100 people were killed when a church
came down in southeastern Nigeria.
In Lagos that same year, a five-storey building still under
construction collapsed, killing at least 30 people.
A floating school built to withstand storms and floods was
also brought down in Lagos in 2016, though nobody was reported
injured.