Hundreds of people were inside the mosque for Friday prayers when part of the building collapsed, officials said.
Seven people were killed when part of a mosque filled with hundreds of worshipers collapsed in Nigeria’s northern city of Zaria, in Kaduna state, with several others injured, officials said.
The incident occurred while hundreds of faithful were observing afternoon prayers on Friday at the city’s central mosque, Zaria Emirate Council spokesman Abdullahi Kwarbai said.
“Four bodies were found initially, and then three more were found after the rescue team searched the collapsed mosque,” he said.
State officials say the mosque was built in the 1830s.
Twenty-three people were sent to the hospital, the State Emergency Management Agency said.
Videos apparently recorded at the scene show a wide opening through which a portion of the roof has fallen.
Kaduna state Governor Uba Sani ordered an immediate investigation into the disaster and promised to help those affected by the “heartbreaking incident”.
The incident follows more than a dozen buildings that have collapsed in the West African country in the past year alone.
Authorities often blame such disasters on the failure of officials to enforce building safety regulations and on poor maintenance and substandard building materials.
