Death toll from building collapse in Nigeria’s economic hub rises to 36

The death toll from a building collapse in the city of Lagos, Nigeria’s economic hub, rose to 36 on Thursday after more bodies have been retrieved by rescuers from the debris.

Between Wednesday and Thursday morning, more than 10 dead bodies were pulled out of the rubble of the 21-story building under construction in the Ikoyi area of Lagos which collapsed on Monday afternoon, bringing the death toll to 36, according to Ibrahim Farinloye, coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in the Lagos state.

Farinloye told Xinhua on the phone the number of rescued people still stood at nine so far.

“Out of the nine survivors, one was a female, and eight were males,” he said, adding the rescue operation which kicked off on Monday was still continuing.

Residents living in the area told Xinhua on Tuesday that the building had been under construction for more than one year.

Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the governor of the Lagos state, announced in a statement on Tuesday the state government is setting up an independent panel to probe the collapse with members from professional builders, town planners, structural engineers and legal practitioners.

“It will independently investigate the remote and immediate causes of the incident and make recommendations on how to prevent future occurrences. The investigation is not part of the internal probe already being conducted by the government,” he said.