Rescue worker: Woman survives 4 days under rubble after Nigerian building collapse; 60 dead
In this photo taken on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2014, rescue workers search for survivors in the rubble of a collapsed building belonging to the Synagogue Church of All Nations in Lagos, Nigeria. Rescue workers have recovered 46 bodies and rescued 130 survivors from a collapsed shopping mall and guesthouse at the campus of renowned Nigerian preacher T.B. Joshua's Synagogue Church of All Nations, the West African nation's emergency agency said Monday, Sept. 15, 2014. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)
LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Rescue workers early Tuesday dug a woman out of the rubble of a building that collapsed four days ago and she walked away with only a slight injury, a government spokesman said.
The death toll rose to 60 by Tuesday afternoon from the fallen multistory building serving as a shopping mall and guesthouse at the sprawling campus of televangelist T.B. Joshua's Synagogue, Church of All Nations, on the outskirts of Lagos, Nigeria's commercial capital, according to spokesman Ibrahim Farinloye of the Nigerian Emergency Management Agency.
"We rescued a woman, alive, around 2 a.m. this morning," Farinloye told The Associated Press. "We found her under the rubble. She walked away with only a little dislocation on her hand. She is very, very lucky."
He said she appeared middle-aged and was black, but he did not ask her nationality.
Workers have rescued 131 survivors, he said. More than 1,000 rescuers from several agencies are at the scene, he said of the pancaked building that was destroyed in clouds of dust and debris on Friday.
It is not known how many foreigners are among victims at the church that attracted people from around the world to experience the evangelical Joshua's preaching, prophecies and faith healing and to get his blessed water that some say has miraculous powers.
South Africa's government said its diplomats are at the scene since at least five South African church tour groups were there at the time.
In Johannesburg, a man called into Talk Radio 702 to complain that a family member who had gone to the church was missing and that they were unable to get any information from the church or Nigerian government officials. South Africa has set up a hotline for concerned family members.
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