Nigeria tragedy: Seven people were killed after a part of mosque collapsed in northwestern Nigeria's Kaduna state during prayers with hundreds of people still being inside on Friday (August 11), officials said.
The Zaria Central Mosque is in Zaria, which is one of northern Nigeria's largest cities.
“Twenty-three persons were affected and evacuated to the hospital by our fire servicemen,” the state Emergency Management Agency said.
According to the state officials, the mosque was constructed in the 1830s.
The purported video apparently recorded on the spot showed a wide opening where a part of the roof fell in.
The deceased were buried and prayers were held for them at the mosque.
Kaduna Gov Uba Sani ordered an immediate probe into the incident and assured assistance to those affected by the “heartbreaking incident.”
His office said an advance team was already in Zaria.
The mosque's collapse comes after more than a dozen building failures in the West African nation in the last year.
Authorities often blame such disasters on a failure by officials to enforce building safety regulations and on poor maintenance.
(With AP inputs)
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