22 students were killed in the collapse of the Saints Academy School in the Bossa Bugi area of Plateau State, northern Nigeria, in a disaster added to the series of building collapses common in the country.
The collapse occurred shortly after the students, aged 15 and under, arrived.
The Nigerian National Emergency Management Agency reported that rescue workers, health and security forces quickly deployed to the scene in an attempt to rescue and treat the victims.
The Plateau State government blamed the tragedy on the school’s “weak structure and location near the riverbank,” making it vulnerable to collapse.
Dozens of villagers gathered near the school, some crying and others offering help, while excavators cleared the rubble searching for survivors or the bodies of victims.
Such disasters in Nigeria are attributed to failure to implement building safety regulations and poor maintenance, which makes many buildings unsafe and constantly puts people’s lives at risk.
School building coll@pses on students writing exams in Jo’s Nigeria.
A two-storey Secondary School building, Saints Academy, located in Jos North LGA, Plateau State, coll@psed this morning, July 12, 2024 pic.twitter.com/eJkKCKqJxH
— Daily Postman (@Living_piece) July 12, 2024
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