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Three dead after shopping mall collapses in Abuja, Nigeria
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by amyjudd | July 29, 2008 at 10:49 am
870 views | 7 Recommendations | 6 comments
UPDATE: 6:14PM EST
Emergency personnel could not remove any dead bodies and many people are still buried under the rubble.
"For the past two hours, no person has been rescued yet and no dead bodies have been removed. They are still digging through the rubble," police officer Adeleye Adewale said.
PREVIOUSLY
Three people are dead and several more are injured when a four-storey shopping centre collapsed in the Nigerian capital Abuja that was under construction.
Using heavy diggers, emergency personnel were trying to rescue dozens of people still buried under the rubble. Police said between 40-50 construction workers were believed to be working in the building when it collapsed.
"For the past two hours, no person has been rescued yet and no dead bodies have been removed. They are still digging through the rubble," said Adeleye Adewale, a police officer involved in the rescue efforts.
Diran Onifade, spokesman for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Ministry, said he could only confirm one person killed.
The building site was due to become the largest shopping centre in Nigeria's capital.
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (6)
at 11:27 on July 29th, 2008
I think this is an important story and would benefit from other NowPublic contributors working on it. I've flagged it as News Wanted and invite others in relevant locations to look for more evidence.
at 14:25 on July 29th, 2008
From the BBC news channel.
Falling debris
Eyewitness Mustapha Murtala told the BBC that there were about 20 labourers working on the building as it collapsed.
"There was a woman selling water in the building, she started screaming and the building collapsed," Mr Murtala said.
He said she was killed by falling debris.
The BBC's Andrew Walker in Abuja says building collapses have been common in Nigeria.
Two years ago the government promised to improve building regulations after hundreds were killed when a high-rise building collapsed in Nigeria's main city of Lagos.
at 14:27 on July 29th, 2008
Thank you for the added information - much appreciated!
at 16:48 on July 29th, 2008
amyjudd, I like this story. It's good stuff.
at 07:40 on July 30th, 2008
amyjudd, I like this story. It's good stuff.
at 20:51 on January 3rd, 2009
why are people shopping in the mall if it was still under construction?