S.Africa Says Death Toll In Nigerian Building Collapse Rises To 115

South African Minister, Jeff Radebe, said on Monday that the death
toll from the collapse of a guesthouse at the Synagogue Church of All
Nations in Lagos has risen to 115.

Minister in the Presidency, Radebe said that 84 South Africans who
were part of visiting church groups had died in the September 12
incident.
He was speaking at an air force base, north of Johannesburg, where 25
South Africans who were injured returned for treatment.

Nigerian emergency services, however, said that the total death toll was 86.

Founder of the church, T.B Joshua, on Sunday, said that he would
travel to South Africa in the coming weeks to meet families and
survivors of the building collapse at his church that killed scores.

A guest-house at Joshua's Synagogue Church of All Nations collapsed on
September 12 as more floors were being constructed on top of the
existing three-storey building, leaving 86 dead and dozens trapped in
the debris.

It is believed that there were 349 South Africans visiting the church
in the Ikotun neighbourhood of Lagos at the time of the collapse.

Joshua told the congregation during his weekly morning service that he
"will be travelling to South Africa to meet people from South Africa
and other nations who find South Africa easier to visit, in memory of
martyrs of faith."

Nigeria's President, Goodluck Jonathan, visited the church on Saturday
and promised to investigate the cause of the tragedy.

He said he would hold talks with stakeholders in the construction
industry on how to prevent a repeat of the tragedy, adding that he had
expressed his sympathies to South African President, Jacob Zuma.