Nigeria: Death toll from building collapse in Lagos rises to 34 (Update)

The death toll from the collapse of a building under construction in Lagos on Tuesday has risen to 34.

The new death toll was announced on Wednesday by a rescue official who earlier reported a death toll of at least 30.

“Rescue work ended at 7:20 p.m. local time (6:20 p.m. GMT) with 34 deaths and 13 people found alive,” said Ibrahim Farinloye of the National Agency for Emergency Management (Nema).

The causes of Tuesday’s accident are still unknown and an investigation was opened by local government agencies, Mr Farinloye said.

Expansion work in the building were illegal but the instructions were flouted, said the government of Lagos State in a statement.

The building belongs to Lekki Gardens, a Nigerian private real estate company with properties in the region, which “had received a warning for exceeding the approved number of floors” and had been placed under seal by the building cotrol agency of Lagos. The statement added that they “criminally unsealed the property and continued work.”

Lekki Gardens confirmed in a statement that the work had been suspended in January due to “structural defects reported” but made no mention of the resumption. It also added that “an investigation is underway to identify the people involved in this case.”