At least 160 people are feared dead and scores more injured after a church building collapsed during mass in Nigeria. The incident happened at Reigners Bible Church International as worshipers were attending a Saturday prayer service in the southern city of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. Local reports suggest the church was undergoing renovation work. One witness told Nigeria’s Premium Times how churchgoers had been attending the consecration of a pastor when suddenly “the whole building collapsed.”
In the hours after the tragedy, the death toll rose dramatically, with the director of University of Uyo Teaching Hospital revealing that at least 160 people died in the incident, AP reports. Hospital chief Etete Peters also told AP that mortuaries at the treatment facility are overflowing with bodies, adding that the number of casualties is likely to rise. READ MORE
