50 cheat death as building collapses

What you need to know:

  • The construction of the Sh50 million building belonging to Sidra Motors near the Mombasa Railway Station was stopped and all labourers ordered to vacate the site until further notice.
  • Mr Thoya said the four would be charged with negligence by putting up a building that had nearly harmed scores of people.

Fifty people narrowly escaped death when a five-storey building they were constructing collapsed.

The labourers scampered for safety when the first floor started to crumble on Sunday evening.

County Executive for Lands, Planning and Housing Francis Thoya ordered the arrest of those involved in the project, namely the contractor, engineer, owner of the building and the county building inspector.

CHARGED WITH NEGLIGENCE

Mr Thoya said the four would be charged with negligence by putting up a building that had nearly harmed scores of people.

The construction of the Sh50 million building belonging to Sidra Motors near the Mombasa Railway Station was stopped and all labourers ordered to vacate the site until further notice.

“According to documents provided to us, it has been established that the construction was illegal and action will be taken against whoever approved it,” said Mr Thoya.

Documents indicate that the approval of the project was done during the transition from the municipal council to the county government when there was no authority in charge of the department.

“There is no licence from the National Environment Management Authority. The approval papers are suspect,” said Mr Thoya.