New building collapses in Nigeria

[Richard Akindele]

A building has collapsed in Nigeria's main city of Lagos, killing 10 people and trapping some 100 people.
The block of flats collapsed on Tuesday evening and rescuers have so far pulled 30 people from the wreckage.

Heavy lifting equipment has arrived at the site to help people using their bare hands to reach those inside.

But a BBC correspondent at the scene says there are fears for the trapped in the rubble as they are no longer reachable by mobile phone.

Overnight, distraught relative were in touch with those inside, but the calls had stopped by morning.

Earlier, rescuers say they heard the trapped people crying out for help.

Tears

The BBC's Uwais Idris says a construction company sent its equipment to help with excavating the wreckage on Wednesday morning.

[i] " I was coming out of my house when I heard a loud bang and the four-storey structure suddenly caved in "

Debo Ajala, eyewitness [/i]

He says hundreds of people, some relatives in tears, are at the scene anxious to see if they can help.

The collapse happened after many of the occupants had returned from work on Tuesday evening.

"It was a gory sight. I was coming out of my house when I heard a loud bang and the four-storey structure suddenly caved in," eyewitness Debo Ajala told AFP news agency.

Lagos state police spokesman, Bode Ojajuni, said the authorities had launched an investigation into the cause of the collapse, the agency reports.

Our correspondent says the building in the residential area of Ebute Metta was relatively new - thought to be not more than three years old.

Such collapses in the past have been blamed on substandard construction and flouting of building regulations, he says.

Dozens have died in recent years in Lagos as poorly maintained buildings have collapsed.

In March, one of Lagos' tallest buildings caved in during a heavy thunderstorm in the heart of the commercial district. The building had been sealed off after a fire on the eighth floor.


BBC

[Richard Akindele]

The governor of Nigeria's Lagos state says owners of a four-story apartment building, which collapsed Tuesday, killing at least 20 people, will be prosecuted. Rescue efforts continue nearly 48 hours after the incident, though at a much slower pace.

Rescue workers battled Thursday to reach those still trapped in the wreckage of the collapsed four-story building in Lagos. The leader of the Red Cross team, Umar Maigira, told VOA that rescue efforts have been severely hampered by the withdrawal of equipment belonging to a local construction company.

"Julius Berger withdrew its earth-moving equipment yesterday," Maigira said. "So they are using crude tools as usual. Work is going on but using crude tools; sledge hammers, shovels and diggers, which is what our volunteers and the community have been doing since last night. But they have not succeeded in fishing out anybody from yesterday up till this morning. But they worked throughout the night."

The Red Cross official was certain that there were still survivors trapped underneath the rubble, nearly 48 hours after the building came crashing down.

"We are still expecting people, even those that may be alive under the rubble, so that is why the community and the Red Cross are still trying," Maigira said. "I do not know what the government is going to do today. If they are returning the equipment that will be good for everybody. Because those that are dead have started smelling. So it will be good if we can have the crane to see if we can evacuate the dead."

Experts say many buildings in Nigeria are constructed with substandard materials and regulation is weak. Dozens of people have died in collapsed buildings in Africa's most populous country in the past few years. Bayo Adeola is a structural engineer in Lagos.

"Behind all this is provision of housing. If each person still needs to struggle to build his own house with inadequate money, he hardly can pay for good quality," Adeola said. "If the industry is not well regulated and all sorts of charlatans can be contractors just because you have access to people who are in a position to give you contracts, then we are going to keep on having this issue of collapsed houses."

Red Cross officials say 20 bodies have been pulled out of the wrecked block of apartments and shops where about 100 people lived. At least 50 survivors have been rescued.

VOA

[Richard Akindele]

More Nigerians have been recorded dead as a result of the collapse of a four-storey building. Aid workers in Nigeria have said that by Thursday, the number of the dead had risen to 28 from 23.

"The number of bodies recovered from the debris is now 28. But we are hopeful of finding more survivors if evacuation goes on well," Head of Lagos Red Cross Timothy Oladele said.

"People have survived in this kind of situation for up to five days. We are just in the third day in our own case and by God's grace we will find some alive," Oladele added.

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