Two dead, eight rescued in Lagos building collapse

A two-storey residential building under renovation collapsed overnight in Nigeria’s commercial hub Lagos, killing two and injuring eight, the emergency services said on Saturday.

Building collapses are tragically common in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, with millions living in dilapidated buildings and building regulations scarcely respected.

“The incident happened around 2:00 am. The building was under renovation by a property developer when it caved in,” Ibrahim Farinloye of the state-run National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) told AFP.

“We have recovered two bodies and rescued eight people who were seriously injured from the debris,” he said.

Farinloye said the death toll would have been higher if the building had been fully occupied.

“Most of the original occupants had vacated the building to allow for its renovation. Only a few occupants were inside the building when it collapsed.”

He said rescue workers had cleared the debris.