Twenty-two children have died and at least 132 have been injured after a school building collapsed in Nigeria\u2019s central Plateau state, local officials say.<\/p>\n
Saint Academy in the state capital Jos caved in while students were in class on Friday morning. Children were left trapped under the debris.<\/p>\n
Volunteers used excavators, hammers and their bare hands to break through the piles of concrete and twisted iron rods to reach many of those trapped.<\/p>\n
Police told reporters that at least 22 children had died in the collapse, with many more receiving treatment in local hospitals.<\/p>\n
The school is believed to have more than 1,000 pupils.<\/p>\n
Local resident Abel Fuandai told the BBC that his friend’s son had been killed and said “the scale of the tragedy is frightening”.<\/p>\n
The state government said an investigation is underway and cited the school’s “weak structure and unsafe location near a riverbank”, advising other schools “with structural concerns” to close immediately.<\/p>\n
It also advised hospitals in Jos to prioritise treating the injured, “regardless of documentation or payment”.<\/p>\n
Residents said the collapse came after three days of heavy rains in Plateau.<\/p>\n
Speaking from hospital, injured student Wulliya Ibrahim told AFP: “I entered the class not more than five minutes, when I heard a sound, and the next thing is I found myself here.<\/p>\n
“We are many in the class, we are writing our exams,” he said.<\/p>\n
Resident Chika Obioha said he had seen a number of dead bodies and that dozens of people had been rescued.<\/p>\n
“Everyone is helping out to see if we can rescue more people,” he said.<\/p>\n
“Devastated by the tragic loss of young lives at Saint Academy,” Unicef Nigeria representative Cristian Munduate wrote on X.<\/p>\n
“Children full of dreams were writing exams when the school building collapsed. Deepest condolences to families affected.”<\/p>\n
There have been several major building collapses in Nigeria in recent years, with observers blaming a mix of bad workmanship, poor quality materials and corruption.<\/p>\n
In 2021, at least 45 people were killed when a high-rise building under construction collapsed in a wealthy Lagos neighbourhood.<\/p>\n