Nigeria 's largest city .
Taken from Associated Press (AP)
LAGOS, Nigeria - A 21-story apartment building under construction in an affluent area of Nigeria's largest city collapsed on Monday, killing at least three people while many others remained missing.
Lagos police chief Hakeem Odumosu confirmed the deaths but added that three survivors were pulled from the rubble after the collapse, which occurred in the Ikoyi area.
Bricklayer Eric Tetteh, 41, recounted that construction crews were waiting for an excavator to arrive at the site when the building suddenly collapsed.
“My brother and I escaped, but more people are there, more than 100 people,” he told The Associated Press.
Upon arriving at the site, Lagos Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat was greeted by a crowd accusing authorities of taking too long to begin rescue efforts.
“For the past two hours since the building collapsed, nobody has come,” one of the angry workers shouted.
Workers say the skyscraper, which collapsed in the Ikoyi area of Lagos, had been under construction for two years.
The cause of the collapse is currently unknown. However, such incidents are relatively frequent in Lagos due to a lack of adherence to safety regulations and the poor quality of housing, which is often hastily constructed by companies to meet high demand.
