At least 10 people have died and many more are feared trapped after a building containing a school collapsed in the Nigerian city of Lagos.
The school, which was on the top floor of the four-storey building in Ita Faji on Lagos Island, had more than 100 pupils, a rescue official told the BBC.
About 40 pupils had been pulled out alive, the official said.
The building had been identified as “distressed” and listed for demolition, Lagos building officials told the BBC.
The collapse happened at about 10:00 local time (09:00 GMT). There were frantic scenes at the site as rescuers and local men searched for survivors, and family members crowded the area in the hope of finding their loved ones alive.
The collapsed building was a residential block containing a number of apartments as well as the school, residents and rescue officials at the scene told the BBC.
Emergency teams pulled several injured pupils from the rubble, but many worried parents at the scene were unable to find their children, while others went to a local hospital to look for theirs.
Men from the local area were assisting rescuers but large crowds of people were hindering the rescue operation.
The Lagos State Building Control Agency confirmed to the BBC that the building had been marked and listed for demolition. It is not unusual for buildings to collapse in Nigeria; materials are often sub-standard and the enforcement of regulations is lax.
