Nigeria: Tragic school collapse killed several students

• A school collapse in Jos North district of Plateau State, Nigeria, killed several students and trapped others.
• The Saint Academy, a two-story building, collapsed on students taking exams.
• The National Emergency Management Agency and other stakeholders are conducting search and rescue operations.

On Friday, a school collapse in central Nigeria killed several students and trapped others who were heard crying out for help under the rubble, according to a rescue agency and witnesses. At the Saint Academy in Jos North district of Plateau State, parents desperately searched for their children after the building collapsed on students who were taking their exams, reported an AFP correspondent at the site.

“A two-story building housing Saint Academy... in Busa Buji in Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State collapsed this morning killing several students,” the National Emergency Management Agency said in a statement.

“NEMA and other critical stakeholders are presently carrying out Search and Rescue operations,” it said.

A resident at the scene, Chika Obioha, informed AFP that he estimated eight people died at the site, and dozens more had been injured. Officials did not provide a precise toll.

“Everyone is helping out to see if we can rescue more people,” he said.

Residents said the collapse occurred after three days of heavy rains in Plateau, though the cause was not immediately clear. Building collapses are frequent in Africa’s most populous nation due to lax enforcement of building standards, negligence, and the use of low-quality materials.

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