- Three-storey building collapsed in the city of Lagos, Nigeria, at 10am Wednesday
- Primary school was crushed among the debris while classes were going on
- At least eight children have died but dozens are feared trapped in the rubble
- More than 100 pupils are thought to have attended the school
- At least eight children have died and dozens more are feared trapped after a primary school collapsed in Nigeria.
The three-storey building, which housed the school on the top floor, came down around 10am in the city of Lagos while classes were going on.
Emergency workers and desperate parents rushed to the scene before at least 25 children were pulled alive from the rubble.But others were shown being carried through the crowds while limp and lifeless.
It is thought more than 100 children attended the school, though it is not clear how many were in the building when it came down.
In chaotic scenes, panicked parents, local residents and shocked onlookers rushed to the area as police, firemen and medics staged a massive rescue operation.
'We are still trying to find out how many are trapped inside,' said police officer Seun Ariwyo, who added that the number was probably scores.One local resident who witnessed the moment of collapse said there was no warning.
'We were smoking outside when the building just collapsed,' Olamide Nuzbah said.
As rescuers worked furiously to reach those inside, distraught parents begged them to find their children.
'Please, save my child, save my child!' wept one traumatised mother whose seven-year-old daughter was trapped inside, as people tried in vain to console her.
School bags, toys and clothes could be seen among the piles of rubble as a bulldozer tried to clear a path through some of the wreckage to help the rescue efforts.
As the day wore on, an AFP correspondent saw several children being brought out, at least one of whom appeared to be dead.
Elsewhere, hundreds of local residents tried to help, passing water and helmets through to dust-covered rescuers working tirelessly to sift through the rubble, some of whom appeared to be distressed. Many locals told AFP that the building, which was in an advanced state of disrepair, had been 'earmarked' for demolition by the authorities in Lagos state.
Lagos, which has a population of 20 million people and serves as Nigeria's economic capital, is made up of a collection of islands.
One of them is Lagos Island, a densely-populated area which is one of the city's oldest neighbourhoods.
It is characterised by its Afro-Brazilian architecture, a style brought over by thousands of freed slaves who headed back home after decades working the plantations in Brazil.
Despite efforts to renovate the area, a large number of buildings remain abandoned or in a state of disrepair which have been taken over by families or businesses, despite being dilapidated and unsafe.
Building collapses are tragically common in Nigeria, where building regulations are routinely flouted.
In September 2014, 116 people died - 84 of them South Africans - when a six-storey building collapsed in Lagos where a celebrity televangelist was preaching.
An inquiry found it had structural flaws and had been built illegally.
And two years later, at least 60 people were killed when the roof collapsed at a church in Uyo, the capital of Akwa Ibom state, in the east of the country.
A Reuters reporter at the scene saw a boy of 10 being pulled from the rubble covered in dust but with no visible injuries. A crowd erupted into cheers as another child was pulled from the wreckage. The two were among eight children residents said had been rescued so far.
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.
“It is believed that many people including children are currently trapped in the building,” said Ibrahmi Farinloye, spokesperson for the National Emergency Management Agency’s southwest region, adding that casualty figures were not yet available.
Residents of the area said around 100 children attended the school, which was on the third floor of the building
At the site, many people were shouting and screaming. A fight almost broke out as anger at the collapse boiled over.
In the crowd’s midst stood ambulances, fire trucks and a forklift. Workers from the Red Cross and police were on hand.
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-story 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.
- As many as 100 children and many others were feared trapped on Wednesday after a building containing a primary school collapsed in Nigeria’s commercial capital Lagos.
The three-storey building, which housed the school on the top floor, came down around 10am in the city of Lagos while classes were going on.
Emergency workers and desperate parents rushed to the scene before at least 25 children were pulled alive from the rubble.But others were shown being carried through the crowds while limp and lifeless.
It is thought more than 100 children attended the school, though it is not clear how many were in the building when it came down.
In chaotic scenes, panicked parents, local residents and shocked onlookers rushed to the area as police, firemen and medics staged a massive rescue operation.
'We are still trying to find out how many are trapped inside,' said police officer Seun Ariwyo, who added that the number was probably scores.One local resident who witnessed the moment of collapse said there was no warning.
'We were smoking outside when the building just collapsed,' Olamide Nuzbah said.
As rescuers worked furiously to reach those inside, distraught parents begged them to find their children.
'Please, save my child, save my child!' wept one traumatised mother whose seven-year-old daughter was trapped inside, as people tried in vain to console her.
School bags, toys and clothes could be seen among the piles of rubble as a bulldozer tried to clear a path through some of the wreckage to help the rescue efforts.
As the day wore on, an AFP correspondent saw several children being brought out, at least one of whom appeared to be dead.
Elsewhere, hundreds of local residents tried to help, passing water and helmets through to dust-covered rescuers working tirelessly to sift through the rubble, some of whom appeared to be distressed. Many locals told AFP that the building, which was in an advanced state of disrepair, had been 'earmarked' for demolition by the authorities in Lagos state.
Lagos, which has a population of 20 million people and serves as Nigeria's economic capital, is made up of a collection of islands.
One of them is Lagos Island, a densely-populated area which is one of the city's oldest neighbourhoods.
It is characterised by its Afro-Brazilian architecture, a style brought over by thousands of freed slaves who headed back home after decades working the plantations in Brazil.
Despite efforts to renovate the area, a large number of buildings remain abandoned or in a state of disrepair which have been taken over by families or businesses, despite being dilapidated and unsafe.
Building collapses are tragically common in Nigeria, where building regulations are routinely flouted.
In September 2014, 116 people died - 84 of them South Africans - when a six-storey building collapsed in Lagos where a celebrity televangelist was preaching.
An inquiry found it had structural flaws and had been built illegally.
And two years later, at least 60 people were killed when the roof collapsed at a church in Uyo, the capital of Akwa Ibom state, in the east of the country.
A Reuters reporter at the scene saw a boy of 10 being pulled from the rubble covered in dust but with no visible injuries. A crowd erupted into cheers as another child was pulled from the wreckage. The two were among eight children residents said had been rescued so far.
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.
“It is believed that many people including children are currently trapped in the building,” said Ibrahmi Farinloye, spokesperson for the National Emergency Management Agency’s southwest region, adding that casualty figures were not yet available.
Residents of the area said around 100 children attended the school, which was on the third floor of the building
At the site, many people were shouting and screaming. A fight almost broke out as anger at the collapse boiled over.
In the crowd’s midst stood ambulances, fire trucks and a forklift. Workers from the Red Cross and police were on hand.
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-story 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.
