Mall Collapses in Nigeria; at Least 1 Killed

A shopping mall under construction in southwestern Nigeria collapsed Friday, killing at least one person and injuring several others.

Ibrahim Farinloye, southwest coordinator for Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency, tells VOA there were 15 construction workers in the building at the time of its collapse.

He says all were rescued alive but one died on the way to the hospital.  Eight others were injured.

Rescue workers searched the debris for other survivors after the four-story building in Abeokuta, the capital of Nigeria’s Ogun state, caved in Friday morning.

Farinloye says the cause is unknown and will be investigated.

Building collapses are a common problem across Africa, mostly caused by cost-cutting and poor construction.

Last month, more than 50 people were killed in the collapse of an six-story apartment building in Nairobi, Kenya.  The building had been condemned by local authorities but the order to evacuate was ignored.

Since then, the Kenyan government has begun to demolish other condemned buildings.