No fewer than 21 pupils have died in the school building that collapsed in Plateau State.
Recall that the two-storey building housing Saints Academy School located in Busa Buji, Jos North Local Government Area of state collapsed on Friday morning.
A red cross Spokesperson, Nuruddeen Hassan Magaji told AFP on Friday night that there were “21 fatalities and 69 injuries all in admission at various hospitals.”
Meanwhile there are frantic calls on social media for Nigerians to head to the various hospitals in Jos where the victims were taken to donate blood.
“Rhesus negative blood donors needed. Please go to Ola hospital or Bingham Hospital (Jan Kwani) to help.Plateau State needs all the help right now,” one of the posts on X.com pleaded.
The Plateau Commissioner for Information and Communication, Musa Ashoms, confirmed to NAN that about 200 students were trapped in the Jos school building that collapsed in Jos.
Ashoms, who visited the scene in the company of other commissioners, including that of secondary education, said that the school had a total population of about 400.
The commissioner said that part of the school that collapsed was accommodating about 200 students.
“The collapsed building has resulted in casualties, and injured students are still being evacuated to hospitals.
“We cannot however, ascertain the exact number of casualties until the evacuation is completed
“The emergency workers are doing a lot in the rescue efforts.
“The Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, has urged the medical personnel in the hospitals to ensure that they save the lives of survivors.
“They should not ask for money or anything because this is an emergency situation,” he said.
The commissioner, however, said that the incident underscored the imperative of order 003 of the state government, which was meant to enforce the implementation of the Greater Jos Master Plan, to prevent such unfortunate incidents.
According to him, the collapsed school building, which was built in a waterlogged area, clearly did not meet construction standards.
Ashoms said that the Jos Metropolitan Development Board would ensure that faulty buildings were brought down, while ongoing constructions would henceforth conform to standards.