A building collapse in Senegal’s city of Touba has claimed the lives of 11 people and left seven others injured, local firefighters confirmed on Monday.
The three-storey structure, which was still under construction, gave way on Sunday afternoon, according to reports from local media outlets.
Moussa Tine, Senegal’s national director of construction, attributed the deadly collapse to a failure to follow proper building regulations. He told the press that the incident resulted from “non-compliance with construction standards.”
Touba, located in central Senegal, is a rapidly growing city and the spiritual centre of the influential Mouride Muslim brotherhood. Like the capital Dakar, Touba is undergoing rapid urban and economic expansion, which has led to a surge in construction activity.
However, experts warn that much of the city’s building boom is unregulated, with numerous structures reportedly erected without official planning permission or safety oversight.
Incidents of buildings collapsing are unfortunately not uncommon in Senegal. In early May, two people lost their lives in a similar incident in Dakar, while seven people were killed in January 2024 when another building crumbled. In neighbouring Guinea, two unfinished buildings collapsed in July 2023, leaving five people dead.
Authorities continue to raise concerns over the lack of enforcement of safety codes in the construction sector, which they say puts lives at risk across the region.
