Death toll from school collapse in Nigeria estimated at 22

People and rescue workers gather at the site of the collapse of a two-story building in Jos, Nigeria, Friday, July 12, 2024. At least 12 students were killed when a school building in northern Nigeria collapsed, trapping them, authorities said Friday. (AP Photos)

By Dyepkazah Shibayan | Associated Press

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — A two-story school collapsed during morning classes in northern Nigeria on Friday, killing 22 students and sending rescue workers frantically searching for more than 100 people trapped under the rubble, authorities said.

The Saints Academy College in Busa Buji local government area of ​​Plateau State collapsed shortly after students, many of them 15 years old or younger, arrived for classes.

A total of 154 students were initially trapped in the rubble, but Plateau police spokesman Alfred Alabo later said 132 of them had been rescued and were being treated for their injuries in various hospitals. He said 22 students had died. An earlier report in local media said at least 12 people had been killed.

Dozens of villagers gathered near the school, some crying, others offering help as excavators combed through the rubble of the collapsed part of the building.

A woman was seen crying and trying to get closer to the rubble while others held her back.

Nigeria’s national disaster management agency said rescue and medical personnel as well as security forces were on site immediately after the collapse and began searching for the trapped students.

“To ensure prompt medical care, the government has instructed hospitals to prioritize treatment without documentation or payment,” Musa Ashoms, Plateau State Information Officer, said in a statement.

The state government blamed the school’s “weak structural integrity and riverside location” for the tragedy and called on schools with similar problems to close.

Building collapses are becoming increasingly common in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country. More than a dozen such incidents have been recorded in the last two years. Authorities often blame such disasters on poor compliance with building safety regulations and inadequate maintenance.

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