No fewer than 17 students have been confirmed dead and scores of others hospitalised as a two-storey school building collapsed in Plateau State on Friday.
The Saint Academy building, located in the Busa Buji community in Jos, the state capital, collapsed at 8:30 a.m., with about 120 students reportedly trapped.
According to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the two-storey building collapsed, leading to a search and rescue operation, with over 40 trapped students rescued and taken to various hospitals, including Bingham University Teaching Hospital, Plateau Specialist Hospital, Jos University Teaching Hospital, and AG Hospital.
“The operation has now ended, with the site cleared and secured. Some students have been treated and discharged, while 30 remain hospitalized, with two in intensive care.
“Unfortunately, some students lost their lives, but NEMA is still confirming the exact number of deaths.”
But the Commissioner for Information, Mr. Musa Ashoms, said in a statement on Friday that 120 people were trapped under the rubble.
He expressed the Plateau State Government’s deep sadness over the tragic incident at Saint Academy Jos, where a building collapsed, resulting in casualties and injured students and teachers still being evacuated to different hospitals within Jos.
“However, we commend the efforts of NEMA, SEMA, the Red Cross, and security agencies in rescuing trapped children and transporting them to hospitals,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Executive Secretary of the State Emergency Management Agency, Sunday Abdu, said that 17 people have so far died.
“The fact remained that the casualty figures kept changing, disclosing that at Bingham University Teaching Hospital, Jos, there were 13 bodies and 43 people receiving medical attention.
“At OLA Specialist Hospital, there were over 40 people receiving attention, while in Plateau Specialists Hospital, there were four bodies with 40 people receiving treatment,” he said.
Abdu stated that the Jos University Teaching Hospital has received some casualties, but the exact number was unavailable at the time of this report.
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