The collapse of a school in northern Nigeria leaves 22 students dead, officials say

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — A two-story school collapsed during morning classes Friday in north-central Nigeria, killing 22 students and sending rescuers on a frantic search for more than 100 people trapped in the rubble, authorities said.

The Saints Academy college in Plateau state’s Busa Buji community collapsed shortly after students, many of whom were 15 years old or younger, arrived for classes.

A total of 154 students were initially trapped in the rubble, but Plateau police spokesperson Alfred Alabo later said 132 of them had been rescued and were being treated for injuries in various hospitals. He said 22 students died. An earlier report by local media had said at least 12 people were killed.

Dozens of villagers gathered near the school, some weeping and others offering to help, as excavators combed through the debris from the part of the building that had caved in.

One woman was seen wailing and attempting to go closer to the rubble as others held her back.

Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency said rescue and health workers as well as security forces had been deployed at the scene immediately after the collapse, launching a search for the trapped students.

“To ensure prompt medical attention, the government has instructed hospitals to prioritize treatment without documentation or payment,” Plateau state's commissioner for information, Musa Ashoms, said in a statement.

The state government blamed the tragedy on the school’s “weak structure and location near a riverbank." It urged schools facing similar issues to shut down.

Building collapses are becoming common in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country with more than a dozen such incidents recorded in the last two years. Authorities often blame such disasters on a failure to enforce building safety regulations and on poor maintenance.

A student is rescued from the rubble of a collapsed two-storey building in Jos, Nigeria, Friday, July, 12, 2024. At least 12 students have been killed after a school building collapsed and trapped them in northern Nigeria, authorities said on Friday. (AP Photos)

A student is rescued from the rubble of a collapsed two-storey building in Jos, Nigeria, Friday, July, 12, 2024. At least 12 students have been killed after a school building collapsed and trapped them in northern Nigeria, authorities said on Friday. (AP Photos)

A man is rescued from the rubble of a collapsed two-storey building in Jos, Nigeria, Friday, July, 12, 2024. At least 12 students have been killed after a school building collapsed and trapped them in northern Nigeria, authorities said on Friday. (AP Photos)

A student is rescued from the rubble of a collapsed two-storey building in Jos, Nigeria, Friday, July, 12, 2024. At least 12 students have been killed after a school building collapsed and trapped them in northern Nigeria, authorities said on Friday. (AP Photos)

People gather at the scene of a collapsed two-storey building in Jos, Nigeria, Friday, July, 12, 2024. At least 12 students have been killed after a school building collapsed and trapped them in northern Nigeria, authorities said on Friday. (AP Photos)

A student is rescued from the rubble of a collapsed two-storey building in Jos, Nigeria, Friday, July, 12, 2024. At least 12 students have been killed after a school building collapsed and trapped them in northern Nigeria, authorities said on Friday. (AP Photos)

People gather at the scene of a collapsed two-storey building in Jos, Nigeria, Friday, July, 12, 2024. At least 12 students have been killed after a school building collapsed and trapped them in northern Nigeria, authorities said on Friday. (AP Photos)

A student is rescued from the rubble of a collapsed two-storey building in Jos, Nigeria, Friday, July, 12, 2024. At least 12 students have been killed after a school building collapsed and trapped them in northern Nigeria, authorities said on Friday. (AP Photos)

People and rescuers gather at the scene of a collapsed two-storey building in Jos, Nigeria, Friday, July, 12, 2024. At least 12 students have been killed after a school building collapsed and trapped them in northern Nigeria, authorities said on Friday. (AP Photos)

A strike by Starbucks baristas protesting the company's new dress code grew Thursday.

More than 2,000 Starbucks baristas at 120 U.S. stores have gone on strike since Sunday to protest the new dress code, according to Starbucks Workers United, a union representing the coffee giant's U.S. workers.

Starbucks put new limits starting Monday on what its baristas can wear under their green aprons. The dress code requires employees at company-operated and licensed stores in the U.S. and Canada to wear a solid black shirt and khaki, black or blue denim bottoms.

Under the previous dress code, baristas could wear a broader range of dark colors and patterned shirts. Starbucks said the new rules would make its green aprons stand out and create a sense of familiarity for customers as it tries to establish a warmer, more welcoming feeling in its stores.

But Starbucks Workers United, the union that represents workers at 570 of Starbucks’ 10,000 company-owned U.S. stores, said the dress code should be subject to collective bargaining.

“Starbucks has lost its way. Instead of listening to baristas who make the Starbucks experience what it is, they are focused on all the wrong things, like implementing a restrictive new dress code,” said Paige Summers, a Starbucks shift supervisor from Hanover, Maryland. “Customers don’t care what color our clothes are when they’re waiting 30 minutes for a latte.”

Summers and others also criticized the company for selling styles of Starbucks-branded clothing that employees no longer are allowed to wear to work on an internal website. Starbucks said it would give two free black T-shirts to each employee when it announced the new dress code.

On Wednesday, Starbucks Workers Union said a total of 1,000 workers had staged walkouts at 75 U.S. stores. Starbucks said at the time that the strike was having a limited impact on its 10,000 company-operated U.S. stores. In some cases the strikes closed stores for less than an hour, the company said.

“It would be more productive if the union would put the same effort into coming back to the table that they’re putting into protesting wearing black shirts to work," Starbucks said in a statement. "More than 99% of our stores are open today serving customers — and have been all week.”

Associated Press readers who shared their opinions had mixed views of the dress code. Some said they didn’t think Starbucks’ baristas had much to complain about, noting that many retailers require their workers to dress a certain way. Others said they thought Starbucks should focus on improving the quality and prices of its beverages, and keeping workers happy instead of worrying about what its employees wear.

Maddie Mucklow, who manages a Starbucks store in Seattle, said she's in favor of the new rules.

“I’ll be honest, I think the dress code was a difficult change for the partners at my store," Mucklow said. "But the dress code gives us a more consistent boundary for how to show up best for each other while still expressing our individuality.”

Starbucks Workers United has been unionizing U.S. stores since 2021. Starbucks and the union have yet to reach a contract agreement, despite agreeing to return to the bargaining table in February 2024.

The union said this week that it filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board alleging Starbucks' failure to bargain over the new dress code.

FILE - Starbucks baristas stand on stage, March 20, 2019, during an annual shareholders meeting in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, file)