Families trapped as flat caves in

Several people are feared dead after a five-storey building under construction collapsed in Makongeni Estate in Nairobi, early Wednesday.

The building, according to survivors and witnesses, collapsed at around 3am, when occupants were asleep.

It sank into its foundation and also fell on iron sheet houses occupied by three families.

Three floors, each hosting five units, are said to have been fully occupied by tenants, mostly students of Technical University of Kenya. Those trapped were communicating with their friends via mobile phone as the rescue was in progress.

“We heard people screaming and when we came out, the building was already down and neighbours were trying to rescue them. There were people crying from inside the rubble,” said a resident, Mr Jackson Keya.

Mr Keya and other neighbours rescued seven people who were taken to Kenyatta National Hospital by the Red Cross rescue team.

“We got them out because we know the building well and we had an idea where the bedrooms were. Since we assumed that many people would still be asleep, we searched for them there,” said Mr Keya, who works as a night guard. “There was no electricity at the time of the collapse.”

A woman who was pulled out of the debris, however, died as she was being taken to hospital.

She had collapsed on learning that her sister was trapped in the building. She was pronounced dead at the hospital and her body was taken to the City Mortuary.

FRACTURES

Most of the injured, according to St John Ambulance Communications Manager Fred Majiwa, suffered fractures on the arms and legs. Many others got minor injuries.

Mr Hesketh Isigi said he received a call from his brother, Mr Lawech Mukagati, at 3am, telling him that the building had collapsed and he was trapped inside.
“He lived in one of the houses on the ground floor and when he called, he told me that he was squeezed between a door and a wall under the rubble,” he said.

Joint rescue efforts by the military, the Kenya National Disaster Operation Centre, the Kenya Red Cross Society, the Nairobi City Fire Brigade and the National Youth Service were going on.

By 3.30pm, three men and a woman had been pulled out of the rubble, bringing to 11 the number of those who were rescued.

Nairobi Deputy Governor Jonathan Mueke, Lands Minister Charity Ngilu, members of Parliament, Devolution PS Mwanamaka Mabruki and Planning PS Peter Mangiti were some of the leaders who visited the scene.

Mr Mueke said the flat had been built with substandard materials and was not cleared for occupation.

Rescue operations, he said, were slowed because slabs kept breaking as they were lifted, risking the lives of those who were trapped inside.

“We have come with a team from Development Control. They are trying to establish who its owner is and whether he followed regulations. We also want to know the circumstances under which he was allowed to construct and at the same time, rent out,” said Mr Mueke.

Mr Mangiti said whoever will be found to have overlooked planning and building regulations will be prosecuted.