Pupils Feared Dead As Others Trapped In Collapsed Lagos Island Building

As many as 100 children and many others were feared trapped on Wednesday March 13, 2019 after a building containing a primary school collapsed in Ita-Faaji, Lagos Island.

At the scene a boy of 10 was being pulled from the rubble covered in dust, but with no visible injuries, a Reuters reporter said.

The 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.

Rescuers cheer as a boy is pulled out of the rubble of a Lagos school collapse. Many more children are believed to be inside as efforts to reach them continue.

Workers on top of the rubble shoveled 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, spokesman for the National Emergency Management Agency’s South-West 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 fork lift. 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-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.