Children die when school collapses in Nigeria

According to local authorities, 22 children died and more than 130 were injured when a school building collapsed in the central Nigerian state of Plateau.

The Saint Academy in the state capital Jos collapsed in the middle of classes on Friday morning. Children were trapped under the rubble.

Using excavators, hammers and their bare hands, volunteers broke through piles of concrete and twisted iron bars to reach many of the trapped people.

Police told reporters that at least 22 children were killed in the collapse and many more were being treated in local hospitals.

The school is expected to have over 1,000 students.

Local resident Abel Fuandai told the BBC his friend’s son had been killed and said “the scale of the tragedy is horrifying”.

The cause of the collapse is unknown, but residents said it occurred after three days of heavy rains in Plateau.

From the hospital, injured student Wulliya Ibrahim told AFP: “I had not been in the classroom for five minutes when I heard a noise and suddenly I was here.”

“There are a lot of us in the class, we are taking our exams,” he said.

Local resident Chika Obioha said he saw numerous bodies and dozens of people had been rescued.

“Everyone is helping to see if we can save more people,” he said.

“Shocked by the tragic loss of young lives at Saint Academy,” Unicef ​​Nigeria representative Cristian Munduate wrote on X.

“Children full of dreams were taking exams when the school building collapsed. Our deepest condolences go out to the affected families.”

There have been several major building collapses in Nigeria in recent years. Observers blame poor workmanship, substandard materials and corruption.

In 2021, at least 45 people were killed when a high-rise building under construction collapsed in an affluent neighborhood in Lagos.

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