Zuma Says 67 South Africans Died In Synagogue Building Collapse

South Africa’s president announced Tuesday that 67 of his compatriots were among scores of worshippers killed in the collapse of a popular and controversial Nigerian megachurch. Declaring his nation in grief, Jacob Zuma said he was “greatly saddened to announce that 67 South Africans died and scores of others sustained injuries,” when a church hostel building collapsed in Lagos on Friday.

The tally of South African dead exceeds the previous toll of 62 thought dead in the disaster, a grim signal that the number of fatalities is likely to rise.

Rescuers say the church’s hostel — which housed Nigerian and had been overburdened by the construction of additional floors.

On Tuesday TB Joshua head of the church tweeted: “Hard times may test me, they cannot destroy me.”

Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency’s Ibrahim Farinloye said that much about the incident remained unclear. The church known as The Synagogue “hid so much information from us, and (this is) the cause of frustration for rescuers,” he said.