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Last Updated: Thursday, 23 March 2006, 12:03 GMT
In pictures: Lagos collapse

One of the tallest buildings in Nigeria's economic capital, Lagos, collapsed on Wednesday morning during a heavy thunderstorm.

The top half of the multi-storey Nigerian Industrial Development Bank office block collapsed in Broad Street - right in the heart of Lagos's commercial district.

Main Street was filled with rubble and police cordoned off the area as emergency workers searched for survivors.

At least one person is dead and 24 were injured, but few people were inside the building as Nigerians had been ordered to stay at home to take part in the national census.

The building had already been sealed off after a fire on the eighth floor at the weekend. The first eight storeys of the building, which remain standing, are a car park.

Dozens have died in recent years in Lagos as poorly maintained buildings have collapsed.





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