An unconfirmed number of students have died and dozens injured following the collapse of a two-storey building at Saints Academy in the Busa Buji area of Jos in North-central Nigeria. Rescue efforts continue as authorities search for survivors trapped under the rubble.

The building collapsed while the students were preparing for their third-term examination. 

According to Eugene Nyelong, Zonal Coordinator for the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in the region, the number of missing students remains unknown. 

“This is a sad day,” said Hart Bankat, General Manager of Jos Metropolitan Development Board (JMDB), speaking to HumAngle at the scene. “We’ve lost far too many lives. The state government and relevant authorities are currently investigating the cause of the collapse while rescue efforts remain a priority.” 

Raising concerns, the demolition of other parts of Saints Academy has begun by JMDB while rescue efforts continue. 

Injured survivors have been transported to various hospitals across Jos, including Plateau Specialist Hospital, Our Lady of Apostles Hospital, Bingham University Teaching Hospital (BUTH), and Jos University Teaching Hospital. 

At BUTH, a distraught family member, who wished to remain anonymous, revealed that three of his relatives were injured in the incident and are being treated in the pediatric ward.

The sombre scene outside the hospital’s mortuary painted a grim picture. Several parents were there, overcome with grief, trying to identify their children among the deceased. HumAngle can confirm that 10 bodies, nine of them young girls and one a boy, were brought to the BUTH mortuary.

One parent, her voice thick with emotion, recounted, “We were told that my neighbour’s daughter, a prefect at the school, went to the block for an assignment and never came back. We just found her here among the dead.”

School officials have declined to comment on the number of students housed in the collapsed classroom block.