ABUJA – At least 10 bodies were recovered from the debris and seven others rescued with varying degrees of injury after a building collapsed Thursday in Ibadan, the main city of Nigeria’s southwestern state of Oyo, local authorities said.
Yemi Akinyinka, head of the Oyo State Fire Services Agency, told reporters in Ibadan that the building suddenly collapsed in the Olunloyo area early Thursday, the second of such incidents in Nigeria in less than a week.
Akinyinka said rescue operators were swiftly deployed to the area while confirming that the search for more bodies or survivors was still underway.
Cases of building collapse are common in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, often leading to heavy casualties. Local experts blamed these incidents on aging structures, non-compliance with building regulations, and the use of substandard construction materials.
Barely a week ago, at least seven bodies were recovered from rubble after a partly demolished building collapsed in a suburban area of the Nigerian capital of Abuja.
Local authorities said that the building, which had earlier been partly demolished by Nigerian authorities, collapsed in Sabon-Lugbe, a suburb of Abuja, when a group of suspected scavengers invaded the site, pulling down and carting away iron rods.
Nigeria registered at least 135 building collapse incidents between 2022 and 2024, according to a report released by the country’s Building Collapse Prevention Guild in July.
XINHUA