Death Toll In Nigeria Church Collapse Rises To 115, Officials Say

A recent church collapse in Lagos, Nigeria has resulted in the death of 115, South African government minister Jeff Radebe announced Monday.

Congregants reportedly gathered in the guest house of a church compound run by popular church preacher T.B. Joshua on Sept. 12 for a service. The guest house, which was reportedly under construction to add more stories, gave way, trapping hundreds in its rubble.

South African government minister Jeff Radebe announced Monday that the church death toll had risen to 115, and implored Nigeria's government to investigate the incident more seriously. The government has received criticism for moving too slowly in investigating the collapse and not doing enough to help free bodies that may still be trapped under the rubble.

At his press conference on Monday, Radebe commended emergency relief workers who have helped in freeing survivors trapped in the rubble, saying they aided in the "biggest evacuation by the air force since the dawn of democracy." 

"We are keenly awaiting as a South African government the investigation that is being conducted by the Nigerian government so that we get to the bottom of the cause of […] this national disaster," Radebe added.

Pastor T.B. Joshua, a popular South African preacher, has received criticism from South Africans after he suggested on his Facebook page that the Sept. 12 incident was an "attack" linked to an aircraft that had flown over the church compound during the collapse.

Radebe added at his press conference that the government has not been in contact with Joshua, saying instead that the government has only hear the pastor's claims on television. "All that we know is what we have heard from the media," he said.