At least 22 people, mostly pupils as they were sitting their exams, were killed after a school in central Nigeria collapsed, the Red Cross and witnesses said.
Trapped pupils cried for help under the rubble as desperate parents looked for their children after the Saint Academy school in Jos North district of Plateau State fell in on classrooms, according to an AFP correspondent at the scene.
Rescue workers tried to reach the victims with heavy machinery and images from the scene showed crowds gathering around a caved-in concrete building and heaps of debris.
Officials at Our Lady of Apostles Hospital said at least 15 rescued and injured pupils were admitted there.
It was not immediately clear what caused the collapse, but residents said it came after three days of heavy rains.
"Devastated by the tragic loss of young lives at Saint Academy," UNICEF Nigeria representative Cristian Munduate wrote on X.
"Children, full of dreams were writing exams when the school building collapsed. Deepest condolences to families affected," she added.
Building disasters are fairly common in Africa's most populous nation because of lax enforcement of construction standards, negligence and low-quality materials.
At least 45 people were killed in 2021 when a high-rise building under construction collapsed in the upscale Ikoyi district in Nigeria's economic capital Lagos.
Ten people were killed when a three-storey building collapsed in the Ebute-Metta area of Lagos the year after.
Since 2005, at least 152 buildings have collapsed in Lagos, according to a South African university researcher investigating construction disasters.
Bad workmanship, low-grade materials and corruption to bypass official oversight are often blamed.
