Nigeria school collapse: Pupils trapped under Lagos building

A building containing a primary school has collapsed in the Nigerian city of Lagos, with pupils reported trapped in the rubble.

The school was on the top floor of the three-storey building in Ita Faji on Lagos island, in Nigeria’s commercial capital.

Images from the scene show rescuers searching through piles of broken concrete and twisted metal.

There is no word on casualties yet and the cause of the collapse is not clear.

Local media say it is a residential building containing several apartments.

BBC Nigeria editor Aliyu Tanko, in Lagos, says emergency teams have pulled injured people from the rubble.

Some worried parents have arrived at the scene while others have gone to a local hospital to look for their children, he adds.

Ibrahim Farinloye, a spokesman for the National Emergency Management Agency, said the collapse had happened at about 10:00 local time (09:00 GMT).

“It is believed that many people including children are currently trapped in the building,” he said.

It is not unusual for buildings to collapse in Nigeria.

Materials are often sub-standard and the enforcement of regulations is lax, correspondents say.

In 2016, more than 100 people died when the roof of a church in Uyo, in the south of Nigeria, caved in.

Source: bbc.com