A 21-story apartment building under construction collapsed in an upscale area of Nigeria's largest city.
ADVERTISEMENTAt least 36 people have died after a 21-story apartment building under construction collapsed in Lagos.
Officials and witnesses said dozens of people were in the building when it came down in an upscale area of Nigeria's largest city on Monday.
The owner of the apartment building has been arrested, according to state media.
Lagos Police Commissioner Hakeem Odumosu said nine survivors had been pulled from the rubble in Ikoyi by Tuesday evening.
But the number of bodies recovered from the sit rose to 36, an emergency official told The Associated Press on Thursday.
No survivors have been rescued from the pile of debris since Tuesday and hopes are fading for dozens of families still awaiting news.
Authorities at the scene were confronted by crowds of people venting their anger that rescue efforts started several hours after the collapse.
Construction worker Eric Tetteh said that he and his brother had managed to escape, but he estimated that more than 100 people were inside the building at the time it crumbled into a pile of debris.
Workers said the high-rise apartment building had been under construction for about two years, and it was not immediately known what had caused the collapse.
Such incidents are relatively common in Lagos because enforcement of building code regulations is weak, while private developers are eager to meet the demand for housing in the megacity.
The Lagos state governor has stated that the manager of the city's State Building Control Agency has been suspended following the collapse.