South Africa’s president announced Tuesday that
67 of his compatriots were among scores of
worshippers killed in the collapse of a popular and
controversial Nigerian megachurch.
Declaring his nation in grief, Jacob Zuma said he
was “greatly saddened to announce that 67 South
Africans died and scores of others sustained
injuries,” when a church hostel building collapsed
in Lagos on Friday.
The tally of South African dead exceeds the
previous toll of 62 thought dead in the disaster, a
grim signal that the number of fatalities is likely
to rise.
Rescuers say the church’s hostel — which housed
Nigerian and foreign followers of a preacher and
televangelist, T.B. Joshua — had been
overburdened by the construction of additional
floors.
The goateed preacher initially claimed that only a
few people were injured and then suggested that
a low-flying aircraft was responsible for the
collapse.
On Tuesday he tweeted: “Hard times may test me,
they cannot destroy me.”
Nigeria’s National Emergency Management
Agency’s Ibrahim Farinloye said that much about
the incident remained unclear.
The church known as The Synagogue “hid so
much information from us, and (this is) the cause
of frustration for rescuers,” he said.
Dubbed “The Prophet”, Joshua claims to have
foreseen the Malaysian Airlines MH17 plane crash,
the Boston marathon bombings and the results of
Nigerian football matches.
He counts presidents and prime ministers among
his flock, giving him considerable political clout.
Former Malawian head of state Joyce Banda, who
has described Joshua as her “spiritual father,”
said Tuesday she was “deeply shocked” by the
accident
“It’s unfortunate that people lost their lives while
praying,” she told AFP.
According to Joshua’s website, three of the
church’s previous buildings were also destroyed.
“The roof of the first church was blown off by a
storm, the second church was washed away by a
flood while the third church also collapsed due to
severe weather conditions.”
- A nation grieving -
Late Tuesday rescue workers were still sifting
through the rubble of the church’s hostel, hoping
against hope to find survivors.
Their prayers were answered earlier in the day
when a woman was rescued and was able
to walk away with just a broken wrist.
The discovery prompted emergency workers to
slow down their digging in the wreckage of the
guesthouse.
But for many others, there will be no dramatic
and happy exit.
Rescue efforts that have so far saved the lives of
133 victims are scheduled to end on Wednesday.
“We have reached a critical stage now and more
survivors are likely to be brought out of the
rubble,” Farinloye said.
At least five South African church tour groups
were at The Synagogue at the time of the
collapse, according to South African officials.
“Not in the recent history of our country have we
had this large number of our people die in one
incident outside the country,” Zuma said in a
statement to the nation.
“The whole nation shares the pain of the mothers,
fathers, daughters and sons who have lost their
loved ones. We are all in grief.”
Zuma said he had ordered government
departments to help family members get to
Nigeria to identify the bodies of their loved ones
and repatriate the remains as soon as possible.
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