84 S/Africans killed in Synagogue church collapse – official

The number of South Africans known to have died in the collapse of a multi-storey megachurch in Lagos last week has risen to 84, Pretoria’s high commissioner to Nigeria said on Friday.

“The number has risen from 67 to 84, with more bodies discovered on Thursday,” Lulu Mnguni told AFP, adding that the toll could rise.

“The number of South Africans who were in the church might be higher, as we believe that some people organised the trip themselves without using travel agents,” Mnguni said.

A multi-storey hotel linked to controversial preacher and televangelist TB Joshua collapsed on Friday, but it was Tuesday before Zuma announced any South African fatalities.

Mnguni said forensic tests were still to be conducted to verify the identities of the dead.

South Africa has sent a team of 10 disaster management personnel, including doctors to help in the search.

It is believed that there were 349 South Africans visiting the popular church at the time of the crash.