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Death Toll Rises in Lagos Building Collapse


Anxious relatives in Nigeria's port city of Lagos are waiting for news about their loved ones.

As many as 50 people are still trapped under the rubble of a four story building that collapsed while under construction on Monday. Authorities say the number of dead has risen to at least five.

Families mill about the debris as rescue workers pull out more bodies.

One of the survivors, construction worker Ababio Samson, says he was inside
the building when it started to come down.

"I was up there at the last decking when the building just collapsed so from there, the building just took us to the ground," he said. "They used rope to carry us out.''

This incident took place in prestigious Victoria Island, on a lagoon set back from the Atlantic, home to some of Africa's most expensive real estate.

Building disasters are common in Nigeria.

Regulations aren't always enforced, and that often leads to structures erected quickly and - sometimes - unsafely.
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    Reuters

    Reuters is a news agency founded in 1851 and owned by the Thomson Reuters Corporation based in Toronto, Canada. One of the world's largest wire services, it provides financial news as well as international coverage in over 16 languages to more than 1000 newspapers and 750 broadcasters around the globe.

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