Nigeria – A school in central Nigeria collapsed on Friday, killing several students and trapping others who were heard crying out for help under the rubble, a rescue agency and witnesses said.
Parents desperately looked for their children at the Saint Academy in Jos North district of Plateau State after the building fell in on students taking their exams, an AFP correspondent at the site said.
“A two-storey building housing Saint Academy… in Busa Buji in Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State collapsed this morning killing several students,” the National Emergency Management Agency said in a statement.
This country Nigeria is cursed.
School building coll@pses on students writing exams in Jos.
A two-storey Secondary School building, Saints Academy, located in Jos North LGA, Plateau State, coll@psed this morning, July 12, 2024, in Busa-Buji Area. pic.twitter.com/5LmkjKx22y— Gemedia (@Gemedia_) July 12, 2024
“NEMA and other critical stakeholders are presently carrying out Search and Rescue operations,” it said.
Officials did not give a precise toll, but a resident at the scene Chika Obioha told AFP he estimated eight people died at the site and dozens more had been injured.
“Everyone is helping out to see if we can rescue more people,” he said.
VIDEO: Two-storey secondary school collapses on students in Jos
A two-storey building housing secondary school students collapsed while school was in session in Busa Buji of Jos North LGA of Plateau State.
At the time of filing this report, the number of casualties is not… pic.twitter.com/OxydRYFjkO
— The Nation Nigeria (@TheNationNews) July 12, 2024
It was not immediately clear what caused the collapse but residents said it came after three days of heavy rains in Plateau.
Building collapses are fairly common in Africa’s most populous nation because of lax enforcement of building standards, negligence and use of low quality materials.
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Source: AFP
Picture: Unsplash
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