Over 20 students were killed while several others were injured after a two-story school collapsed during morning classes on Friday (July 12) in north-central Nigeria, officials said, adding that the rescuers are on a frantic search for over 100 people trapped in the rubble. The incident took place at Saints Academy college in Plateau state's Busa Buji community, soon after the students, several of whom were 15-year-old or younger, arrived for classes.
“A total of 154 students were trapped but 132 of them were rescued and were being treated for injuries in various hospitals. Twenty-two students were killed,” Plateau police spokesman Alfred Alabo said.
Rescue operation launched
The rescue operation was launched by the rescue and health workers, as well as security forces, Nigeria's National Emergency Management Agency said.
“To ensure prompt medical attention, the government has instructed hospitals to prioritize treatment without documentation or payment,” Plateau state's Commissioner for Information Musa Ashoms said in a statement.
Government reacts to the incident
The state government blamed the tragedy on the school's “weak structure and location near a riverbank." It urged schools facing similar issues to close down.
Dozens of villagers gathered near the school, some weeping and others offering to help, as excavators combed through the debris on the part of the building that caved in. One woman was seen wailing and attempting to go closer to the rubble as others held her back.
Building collapses are becoming common in Nigeria, Africa's most populous country with more than a dozen such incidents recorded in the last two years. Authorities often blame such disasters on a failure to enforce building safety regulations and on poor maintenance.
(With AP inputs)
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