South African President Zuma: 67 died in Nigeria church collapse

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, Sept. 17 (UPI) —

South African President Jacob Zuma announced Wednesday that 67 South Africans died last week when a Lagos, Nigeria, church hostel collapsed.

Declaring his country in mourning, Zuma said he was "greatly saddened to announce that 67 South Africans died and scores of others sustained injuries."

The South Africans were visiting the church, known as "The Synagogue, Church of All Nations" of evangelist T.B. Joshua, a popular presence on television across Africa, and a preacher who claims to have performed miracles. Rescuers said the church hostel, a hotel for guests, was structurally unsound because of the addition of several floors.

Joshua initially claimed only several people were injured in the incident, and also claimed a low-flying plane was seen in the area prior to the collapse — an indication of an attempt on his life.

At least 130 were removed from the damaged building, and officials said church members attempted to prevent emergency crews from accessing the structure.

"For the first three days of the incident, the church people were very hostile and prevented rescue officials’ access to the site," a spokesman for Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Authority, said.

"This is a particularly difficult time for South Africa. Not in the recent history of our country have we had this large number of our people die in one incident outside the country," Zuma said in a statement.

About 300 people traveled from South Africa last week to attend a Joshua healing event in Lagos.