Search for survivors under way in deadly building collapse in Nigeria

At least two people have been killed and more believed trapped after a seven-storey unfinished building collapsed in Nigeria's capital Lagos, rescue authorities said.

Two bodies had been recovered from the rubble on Sunday, Ibrahim Farinloye of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) told AFP news agency.

At least four other people are believed to be trapped inside, and operations were ongoing, said the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA)'s chief executive Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu.

The building was being constructed next to a hospital in the neighbourhood of Oniru, he said. No reason was given for the collapse.

Building collapses are frequent in Africa's most populous country, where regulations are poorly enforced and construction materials often substandard.

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Frequency of building collapses

Enforcement of safety regulations and use of shoddy materials have been highlighted since November last year after a high-rise building under construction collapsed in the Ikoyi district of Lagos, killing at least 45 people.

Ten people were killed when a three-storey building collapsed in the Ebute-Metta area of Lagos in May this year.

In January, three people, including two children, were killed and another 18 rescued when a church collapsed in southern Delta state.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has called for improved construction standards, calling the frequency of building collapses "increasingly embarrassing".

Since 2005, at least 152 buildings have collapsed in Lagos, according to a South African university researcher investigating construction disasters.

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