LAGOS
By Rafiu Ajakaye
The death toll from the collapse of a church guesthouse in the commercial city of Lagos has risen to 40 while at least 140 persons have been rescued alive, the country's emergency agency has confirmed.
"Some 140 persons have been rescued alive with 40 casualties as search and rescue operations continue," Farioye Ibrahim, a spokesman for the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), told Anadolu Agency.
A guesthouse at Nigeria's international Synagogue Church of All Nations had collapsed on Friday afternoon in the Ikotun suburb of Lagos.
Local media quoted the church's owner 'Prophet' T.B. Joshua as claiming that the incident appeared to be a "terrorist attack as the building crashed just minutes after a helicopter hovered around" the giant church, attended by thousands of faithful.
He reportedly claimed that the helicopter may have dropped some "substances" on the building.
NEMA has called for investigation into the standards adopted for the construction work.
In a series of tweets, NEMA said the collapsed building was having two floors being added to it "without fortification of initial foundation for the former structure."
"This may have a high probability of having caused the building to collapse," it added.
The agency had accused members of the church yesterday of "obstructing and harassing" rescue workers.
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