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Death Toll Rises in Lagos Building Collapse

Rescue workers carry a survivor from the rubble of a building under construction which collapsed in Lagos, Nigeria, Nov, 4. 2013. 
1/5 Rescue workers carry a survivor from the rubble of a building under construction which collapsed in Lagos, Nigeria, Nov, 4. 2013.
A four-story building collapsed in Nigeria's commercial capital of Lagos on November 4, killing at least four construction workers, according to the Red Cross. Witnesses said that about 50 workers were trapped inside the rubble.
An emergency official watches an excavator dig through the rubble of a collapsed building in the Victoria Island district of Lagos, Nov. 5, 2013. 
2/5 An emergency official watches an excavator dig through the rubble of a collapsed building in the Victoria Island district of Lagos, Nov. 5, 2013.
A four-story building collapsed in Nigeria's commercial capital of Lagos on November 4, killing at least four construction workers, according to the Red Cross. Witnesses said that about 50 workers were trapped inside the rubble.
Police officers, rescue workers and onlookers gather near the site of a building under construction which collapsed in Lagos, Nigeria, Nov, 4. 2013. 
3/5 Police officers, rescue workers and onlookers gather near the site of a building under construction which collapsed in Lagos, Nigeria, Nov, 4. 2013.
A four-story building collapsed in Nigeria's commercial capital of Lagos on November 4, killing at least four construction workers, according to the Red Cross. Witnesses said that about 50 workers were trapped inside the rubble.
Rescue workers carry a survivor from the rubble of a building under construction which collapsed in Lagos, Nigeria, Nov, 4. 2013. 
4/5 Rescue workers carry a survivor from the rubble of a building under construction which collapsed in Lagos, Nigeria, Nov, 4. 2013.
A four-story building collapsed in Nigeria's commercial capital of Lagos on November 4, killing at least four construction workers, according to the Red Cross. Witnesses said that about 50 workers were trapped inside the rubble.
<span lang="fr"><span class="hps">Béji Caïd</span> <span class="hps">Essebsi</span> <span class="hps">a été proclamé vainqueur de l&#39;élection présidentielle en Tunisie lundi 22 décembre 2014. Sur la photo, il donne</span> <span class="hps">un discours devant</span> <span class="hps">ses partisans</span> <span class="hps">après le second tour</span> <span class="hps">de l&#39;élection présidentielle</span> <span class="hps">du pays</span><span>,</span> <span class="hps">à Tunis</span><span>,</span><span class="hps"> dimanche 21 décembre 2014</span><span>.</span></span>
5/5 Béji Caïd Essebsi a été proclamé vainqueur de l'élection présidentielle en Tunisie lundi 22 décembre 2014. Sur la photo, il donne un discours devant ses partisans après le second tour de l'élection présidentielle du pays, à Tunis, dimanche 21 décembre 2014.
A four-story building collapsed in Nigeria's commercial capital of Lagos on November 4, killing at least four construction workers, according to the Red Cross. Witnesses said that about 50 workers were trapped inside the rubble.
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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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