67 South Africans died in Nigeria hostel collapse

At least 67 South Africans were killed when a church hostel collapsed in Nigeria's most populist city of Lagos last week, South Africa's President Jacob Zuma has revealed.

Rescue workers, however, said at least 70 bodies have been pulled from the debris of the hostel belonging to Nigerian TV evangelist TB Joshua, BBC reported.

The multi-storey building served as a guesthouse on the campus of the televangelist's Synagogue, Church of All Nations.

At least 130 people, including many foreigners, were pulled out of the rubble.

President Zuma described it as the deadliest incident involving South Africans abroad "in our recent history".

Joshua, one of Nigeria's best-known evangelists, is popular across Africa.

The likeliest cause of the building's collapse was the construction of additional storeys without reinforcing the foundations, a rescue official said.