School collapse kills 6 in Nigeria

Five children and a teacher were killed when an Islamic primary school collapsed near the central Nigerian city of Jos, the country’s main relief agency said on Monday. The tragedy happened on Sunday evening at the Abu Naima school in the Bukuru area to the south of the city, said Mohammed Abdulsalam, from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA). “Six people died: Five students and one female teacher. Twenty-four people — 21 girls and three boys — were injured and taken to hospital,” he told AFP. Three of the children who died were boys and two girls. Their ages were not immediately available, said Abdulsalam. The cause of the collapse was yet to be identified but Abdulsalam said investigators were looking at whether the addition of extra floors onto the single- story building was a factor. Heavy rains earlier in the day saw many children stay away from the school, which caters for pupils aged five to 10, he added. “The rescue operation was concluded last night (Sunday) at about 10 p.m. (local time). We are going this morning for further checks,” he explained. Building collapses are common in Nigeria, particularly during seasonal rains. Sub-standard building materials and lack of planning permission are often contributory factors. Last year, 116 people, most of them South Africans, were killed when a guesthouse for foreign followers of popular pastor and televangelist TB Joshua collapsed in the financial capital, Lagos. A coroner in July ruled that structural failures caused the collapse and recommended the church should be investigated and prosecuted for not obtaining planning approval. Extra floors were being added to the building at the time.