Lagos, Nigeria - March 13, 2019 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Rescuers carrying student out from debris
2. Rescuers carrying body bag out from debris
3. Crowd gathered after building collapse
4. Residents on street
5. Residents, rescuers
6. Survivor crying
7. Excavator
8. Various of rescuers searching through debris
9. Various of residents, rescuers, excavator on debris
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Erinoluwa Akinmoladun, resident:
"Some of them like the seniors went out for sports training and fitness. Some of them went for excursion so I can't say this is the total number, let me say the total number should be like minimum of sixty to eighty. But when they go out, I can't say that is the total number remaining inside."
11. Outside shot of hospital
12. Rescuers carrying victim into hospital
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Jide Idris, Lagos State Commissioner of Health:
"We try our best as a government to deal with the casualties. The ones we can save we will save. It's also a good lesson again; we shouldn't assume that this kind of thing will not happen again; we just need to be more and more prepared. The cause will be handled by the appropriate agency of government."
14. Building
15. Residents

Rescuers are racing against the clock in Nigeria's capital Lagos after a three-story building that housed a school collapsed on Wednesday, trapping dozens of children and adults.

Nearly 40 people have been pulled from the rubble alive.

A local rescue official said that at least nine bodies have been discovered, and the school in the three-story building in Ita-Faji area of the Lagos Island had 172 registered pupils.

Large crowds that gathered after the incident have hindered the rescue operation, especially because they have made the area very hard to access for large equipment.

It's not known how many people were in the building when it came down. According to the BBC, Lagos officials said the building had been listed for demolition.

Soldiers, police and personnel from the disaster management agency have jointly attempted to pull out victims stuck in the twisted wreckage.

Erinoluwa Akinmoladun, a young man whose family owns the building said some of the school students were not around when the incident happened.

"Some of them like the seniors went out for sports training and fitness. Some of them went for excursion so I can't say this is the total number, let me say the total number should be like minimum of sixty to eighty. But when they go out, I can't say that is the total number remaining inside," he said.

Most of the victims were taken to the area's main hospital. Those with more serious injuries were transferred to other facilities for special treatment.

"We try our best as a government to deal with the casualties. The ones we can save we will save. It's also a good lesson again; we shouldn't assume that this kind of thing will not happen again; we just need to be more and more prepared. The cause will be handled by the appropriate agency of government," said Jide Idris, Lagos State Commissioner of Health

As darkness falls over the site, the rescuers are still hard at work hoping to find more survivors under the rubble.

Cases of collapsed buildings often occur in Lagos, Nigeria's economic hub, as some property owners and developers do not adhere strictly to planning and building laws and regulations.