Death toll rises to 43 in Nigeria building collapse
LAGOS, Nigeria – Seven more bodies have been recovered from a highrise apartment building that collapsed while under construction in Lagos, bringing the death toll to 43, a Nigerian Red Cross official said.
Among the dead is Femi Osibona, a director of Fourscore Homes, the real estate company building the 21-story luxury tower, Segun Akande said.
No survivors have been rescued from the site since Tuesday.
It is not known how many people remain missing but one construction worker at the scene estimated that 100 people were working there when it collapsed on Monday, meaning that 48 people could still be missing.
Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city with more than 14 million people, has begun three days of mourning with flags at half-staff. An investigation has begun to determine what caused the collapse and whether there were lapses on the part of regulatory agencies.
Structural integrity tests have been ordered “to safeguard the lives of emergency workers on the rescue operation,” said Lagos Governor Babjide Sanwo-Olu.