Nigeria says 70 dead in building collapse; questions S. Africa victim claim

Seventy bodies have been recovered from the rubble of a collapsed church building in Lagos but remain unidentified, a Nigerian official said on Wednesday, questioning South Africa’s assertion that 67 of the victims had come from there. South African President Jacob Zuma said on Tuesday night that at least 67 of his compatriots had died in Friday’s accident at the Synagogue Church of All Nations in Nigeria, describing it as one of the worst tragedies in his country’s recent history. Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), however, said it was too early to know how many people had been killed or their nationalities. NEMA spokesman Ibrahim Farinloye said 131 survivors had been rescued. The collapse occurred when three extra storeys were being added to the existing two storeys of a guest house on the church compound, where visitors from abroad flock to stay. Led by the charismatic “prophet” T.B. Joshua, the Lagos Pentacostal church attracts a global following of Christians who believe Joshua is able to perform miracles including curing the ill and raising the dead from the grave.

The president [Zuma] is not in Nigeria. We are working on what we have … The church management up until now has not estimated or given us any list of people trapped, so we are just working on blind guesswork until we get to the last rubble.

Ibrahim Farinloye, NEMA spokesman

Africa