It’s unknown how many people could still be trapped inside the debris, but one construction worker at the scene had estimated there were about 100, leaving potentially 70 unaccounted for.
“Hope is what is in short supply,” he told families. “There is no pillar in any form that is holding anything,” he said of the building’s remains. Babajide Sanwo-Olu said it was unclear how long the rescue mission would continue. The previous official death toll, released early Tuesday afternoon, had been 14.
Nine people had been rescued by Tuesday, but no new survivors were found Wednesday. The death toll from the collapse of a high-rise apartment building under construction in Nigeria’s most populous city has risen to 21, the Lagos state governor said Wednesday, as rescue crews continued to seek surviving workers in the rubble.
