22 killed as school building collapses in Plateau

Authorities in central Nigeria said that a two-story school building collapsed, killing at least 22 people, including pupils. Rescuers are searching frantically for over 100 individuals who may have been buried under the debris. 

Authorities announced on Saturday that the Saint Academy building in the Plateau state hamlet of Busa Buji collapsed on Friday, not long after students—many of whom were 15 years of age or younger—arrived for classes. 

Initially, 154 pupils were reported to be under the wreckage; however, according to police spokesperson Alfred Alabo, 132 of them have been rescued and are receiving medical attention at different hospitals for their injuries.

Alabo stated that 22 students have been officially declared deceased, according to the Associated Press news agency. At least 12 individuals were reportedly slain, according to a previous claim from Nigerian media. 

Thirty patients are still in hospitals, according to a Facebook post from Nigeria's National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA). It claimed the location had been evacuated and the rescue effort had concluded. Heavy gear was used by rescue personnel in an attempt to reach the victims. 

Photos from the area showed people assembling around mounds of debris and a concrete building that had collapsed. 

As excavators searched through the rubble from the section of the structure that had collapsed, dozens of residents gathered near the school, some sobbing and others offering assistance.

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