At least three persons have been confirmed dead after a high-rise building collapsed while under construction in the Nigerian city of Lagos.

The building, intended to be a luxury block of flats, came down at 14:45 local time (13:45 GMT) in the upmarket district of Ikoyi.

Hakeem Odumosu, the Lagos Police Commissioner, confirmed the deaths, adding that three survivors had been pulled from the rubble in Ikoyi by Monday evening.

Workers said the high rise, which collapsed in the Ikoyi area of Lagos, had been under construction for about two years.

What caused the collapse and how many people are trapped under the rubble remains unclear.

It is worthwhile to note that such incidents are relatively common in Lagos owing to weak enforcement of building code regulations.

Private developers are often blamed for carrying out shoddy work as they race to meet demand for housing in the megacity.