S.Africa Says Death Toll In Nigerian Building Collapse Rises To 115

South African Minister, Jeff Radebe, said on Monday that the death toll from the collapse of a guesthouse at the Synagogue Church of All Nations in Lagos has risen to 115.

Minister in the Presidency, Radebe said that 84 South Africans who were part of visiting church groups had died in the September 12 incident.

He was speaking at an air force base, north of Johannesburg, where 25 South Africans who were injured returned for treatment.

Nigerian emergency services, however, said that the total death toll was 86.

Founder of the church, T.B Joshua, on Sunday, said that he would travel to South Africa in the coming weeks to meet families and survivors of the building collapse at his church that killed scores.

A guest-house at Joshua’s Synagogue Church of All Nations collapsed on September 12 as more floors were being constructed on top of the existing three-storey building, leaving 86 dead and dozens trapped in the debris.

It is believed that there were 349 South Africans visiting the church in the Ikotun neighbourhood of Lagos at the time of the collapse.

Joshua told the congregation during his weekly morning service that he “will be travelling to South Africa to meet people from South Africa and other nations who find South Africa easier to visit, in memory of martyrs of faith.”

Nigeria’s President, Goodluck Jonathan, visited the church on Saturday and promised to investigate the cause of the tragedy.

He said he would hold talks with stakeholders in the construction industry on how to prevent a repeat of the tragedy, adding that he had expressed his sympathies to South African President, Jacob Zuma.