A school collapse in northern Nigeria results in the deaths of 22 students.

ABUJA, Nigeria — A two-story school building collapsed during morning classes on Friday in north-central Nigeria, resulting in the deaths of 22 students and prompting a frantic search for over 100 people trapped in the debris, authorities reported.

The incident occurred at Saints Academy College in Busa Buji, a community in Plateau state, shortly after students, many 15 years old or younger, had arrived for their classes.

Initially, 154 students were trapped in the rubble. Plateau police spokesperson Alfred Alabo later confirmed that 132 of them had been rescued and were receiving treatment for injuries at various hospitals. He also confirmed that 22 students had died, correcting an earlier report by local media that stated at least 12 fatalities.

Dozens of villagers gathered near the collapsed school, some in tears and others offering assistance, as excavators worked through the debris. A woman was seen wailing and trying to get closer to the rubble, with others holding her back.

Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency said that rescue and health workers, along with security forces, were deployed to the scene immediately after the collapse to search for the trapped students.

“To ensure prompt medical attention, the government has instructed hospitals to prioritize treatment without documentation or payment,” said Musa Ashoms, Plateau state’s commissioner for information, in a statement.

The state government attributed the tragedy to the school’s “weak structure and location near a riverbank” and urged other schools with similar issues to shut down.

Building collapses are becoming increasingly common in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, with more than a dozen such incidents recorded in the past two years. Authorities often attribute these disasters to the lack of enforcement of building safety regulations and poor maintenance.