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Building collapse on construction site kills 35 in Nigeria

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AP Lagos
Officials say the collapse of a building complex under construction has killed 34 mainly foreign workers in Nigeria's commercial capital of Lagos.

National Emergency Management Agency's spokesman Ibrahim Farinloye said today that 13 people were saved from the rubble in the rescue operation that started after the Tuesday pre-dawn collapse and ended Wednesday night. He said most victims were from Benin and Niger.

Lagos state says it had ordered work to stop because the construction was not approved. It said Lekki Gardens property development directors will be prosecuted.

Buildings collapse often in Nigeria because corruption has builders cutting corners.

In 2014, a building of the Synagogue Church of All Nations caved in and killed 116 people. A court ordered the prosecution of the church and two structural engineers.

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First Published: Mar 10 2016 | 6:57 PM IST

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