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| the collapsed church building |
The number of
people killed in the collapse of a guest house under construction at the Lagos
headquarters of one of Nigeria’s best-known Christian evangelical pastors rose
to 41 on Sunday, rescuers said, as they worked to clear the wreckage.
The
five-story building in the Ikotun neighborhood of Lagos collapsed on Friday,
and Ibrahim Farinloye, a spokesman for Nigeria’s National Emergency Management
Agency, said about 130 people had been pulled out alive with various injuries.
Media reports
showed a mound of flattened concrete and twisted steel wires at the compound
belonging to the Synagogue Church of All Nations, which is headed by T. B.
Joshua, who has followers around the world.
On Friday after the collapse, members of
the church at first prevented emergency officials from joining the rescue
effort, making it difficult to establish a toll for the dead and injured. But
state rescuers were allowed in on Saturday.
“We’re still working at the site,” said
Mr. Farinloye, adding that he expected the operation would extend into Monday.
There was no immediate explanation for
the collapse.
Emergency services
officials said the lower two floors of the building had already been operating
as a guest house, and it appeared that construction work was underway to add
three more floors.
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