Three pulled out alive in collapsed Kware building

Three found alive in collapsed building

A woman and two children were on Tuesday evening pulled out alive from a seven-storey building that collapsed in Kware, Embakasi.

According to Nairobi county head of Security Mr Francis Munyambu, the woman had difficulties in breathing but had since recovered.

“A woman and two children have been rescued alive at the collapsed building in Kware. The woman had difficulties in breathing but she is fine,” said Mr Munyambu.

Mr Munyambu added that the three had since been rushed to Nairobi West hospital for treatment.

One of children rescued from the rubble of a building that collapsed in Kware, Embakasi receives medical attention inside an ambulance on June 13, 2017. PHOTO | EVANS HABIL | NATION MEDIA GROUP

Mr Mwachi Pius Masai, the Deputy Director and Communication Officer National Disaster Management Unit also confirmed that the woman, a female and male child had been rescued alive.

Earlier in the day, Red Cross spokeswoman Noellah Musundi said that at least four people were missing.

RESISTANCE

She said the exact number of people missing was unclear, but confirmed rescuers were looking for a mother and her three children.

Police and local residents said the authorities were alerted on Monday after cracks appeared in the building, prompting an urgent evacuation before it collapsed two hours later, at around 10pm.

Emergency personnel attend to one of children rescued from the rubble of a building that collapsed in Kware, Embakasi inside an ambulance on June 13, 2017. PHOTO | EVANS HABIL | NATION MEDIA GROUP

"The collapse was not completely unexpected, which allowed us to evacuate most of the people," said Ms Musundi of the incident which occurred in Kware area of Mukuru Kwa Reuben, one of the biggest slums in Nairobi.

Resident Dorothy Ouko told AFP she was worried about her 15-year-old son and 22-year-old nephew who had insisted on finishing their dinner before leaving the building.

"My three other kids were out of the house when it collapsed," she said, adding that one of her neighbours on the sixth floor had also insisted on staying, dismissing fears the building would collapse.

Emergency personnel attend to one of children rescued from the rubble of a building that collapsed in Kware, Embakasi on June 13, 2017. PHOTO | EVANS HABIL | NATION MEDIA GROUP

128 TENANTS

"She was in the house with her two children and we don't know where they are now or whether they are alive." 

By midday, 128 tenants had been accounted for, the National Disaster Management Unit said.

It was not immediately clear how many people were living there.

"Most families cooperated and (were) evacuated safely. However, it is believed that some people may have been trapped. Rescue efforts are ongoing," said spokesman Pius Masai.

He said the rescue operation was difficult since space was limited and the adjacent seven-storey building also appeared to be unstable.

"It is a very delicate operation but we hope to finish it safely," he said.

Residents look on as rescuers search for survivors from the Kware building that collapsed. PHOTO | EVANS HABIL | NATION MEDIA GROUP

RUBLLE

Tenants from the neighbouring building were also evacuated, he said. 

Images posted on Twitter by the Kenyan Red Cross showed work to clear the rubble with the help of an excavator, with parts of the building's red roof clearly visible.

A fire engine was also on site as well as a number of soldiers.

Masai, National Disaster Management Unit spokesman, also appealed for anyone with cutters or drilling equipment to join the search and rescue operation.

Police are reportedly looking for the owner of the building.

Several buildings have collapsed in recent years in Nairobi and other Kenyan cities, where a property boom has seen buildings shoot up at speed, often with little regard for regulations.

One of the tenants of a building that collapsed on Monday night in Kware, Embakasi, Nairobi, listening to area leaders at the scene on June 13, 2017. PHOTO | EVANS HABIL | NATION MEDIA GROUP

CORRUPTION

Such incidents have raised questions about the quality of building materials and construction standards in a country where rampant corruption has seen unscrupulous developers using bribes to avoid regulations.

In April 2016, 49 people died when a six-storey building collapsed in a poor neighbourhood northeast of the capital following days of heavy rain which caused floods and landslides.

The building, constructed two years earlier, had been slated for demolition after being declared structurally unsound.

Although around 150 families were living there in tightly-packed conditions, an order to evacuate the building and demolish it was ignored.

(Additional reporting by AFP)