One dead, 4 injured after building under demolition near Wakulima Market collapses
One of the people injured after a building collapsed near Wakulima Market in Nairobi is taken to an ambulance on April 15, 2015. PHOTO | COURTESY | ST JOHN AMBULANCE
What you need to know:
- The owner of Nyota building had given the occupants notice on Monday to vacate or face forceful eviction.
- Once the building was vacated, hundreds of youths raided the building for its windows and slab enforcing steel on its upper floors.
One person died and four others were injured on Wednesday after a building under demolition on Wakulima Road in Nairobi collapsed.
The five were part of a gang that raided the building to steal window panes and steel metals after the owner gave tenants a notice to vacate.
The owner of the Nyota building had given the occupants a notice on Monday to vacate or face forceful eviction.
Once the tenants moved out of the building, hundreds of youths raided it for its windows and the slab-enforcing steel on its upper floors.
On Tuesday excavators continued chipping off the slabs, including the staircases for metal, compromising the structure.
When a band tried to loot the metal, a first-floor slab gave way, crashing some of the excavators.
The injured were taken to Kenyatta National Hospital.
Speaking to the Nation, Central Police Commander Paul Wanjama stated police had contacted the owner of the building to bring it down.
"We will patrol the area so that the youth do not go back in and we expect the owner to bring it down as soon as possible," he said.
Mr Wanjama confirmed that the building was the subject of a court case but the matter was settled last year.
