Four-storey building collapses in Lagos, Nigeria; two dead

March 25, 2009

A residential four-storey building collapsed in, Nigeria on Tuesday. At least two people have died, and another fourteen people have been rescued from the debris.

The building was located in the Idi-Araba neighbourhood, a densely populated area of the city.

A spokeswoman for the Red Cross, Umo Okon, stated that "there are about 14 people so far rescued alive. It was a four-storey building, fully residential. There are still some people trapped inside."

Construction workers working at another site nearby helped remove the building's roof to help the rescue effort.

Building collapses are not unheard of in Nigeria: In 2006, 28 died after a building, with a restaurant and shops, collapsed in Lagos. In July of last year, three people were killed when another four-storey building came down in, the capital of the country.

It is still uncertain what caused the incident, although collapses such as these have in the past been blamed on poor building standards and low construction material quality.