At least 41 people have survived the bulding collapse involving Ohen Nursery and Primary School, Ita Faji, Lagos Island, Lagos.

The children were attending an “illegal school” inside the residential building when the structure collapsed, officials said.

“Dozens of children were trapped inside,” said Adesina Tiamiyu, head of Lagos state emergency management agency (SEMA), which is supervising the rescue operation.

The list of survivors, obtained by SaharaReporters on Wednesday evening, contains 41 names, five of whom are unnamed.

So far, emergency workers had pulled 41 people alive from the rubble, some of them badly injured, he said.

But they had also recovered “more than four dead bodies”, Tiamiyu said without giving an exact figure.

Police said they believed scores of people were trapped under the rubble of the building which collapsed mid-morning in an area near Itafaji market on Lagos Island.

“We are getting additional cranes to be able to go deeper than where we are now to rescue more lives,” said Lagos state governor Akinwunmi Ambode in a statement.

All of them are in stable condition.

The survivors comprise 22 females, 17 males and two persons whose gender was not listed.

Two teachers, three adults were clearly stated, while the 36 other victims are assumed to be children.

At least 12 persons, including schoolchildren, have been confirmed dead, but with rescue efforts still ongoing at the scene of the incident, the figures of both survivors and the dead could yet rise.