NAIROBI, Kenya Jun 14 – Seven hours after a house under construction collapsed in Nairobi’s Pipeline estate, rescuers are yet to retrieve bodies of two people who died under the rubble, while 14 others remain trapped under the debris.
The bodies of the two men who were working at the six-storey building were still buried under the rubble late on Tuesday, with rescuers unable to retrieve them.
“We have tried to remove the bodies under the rubble but it is proving to be difficult unless we remove the upper floors. It may take some time,” a Kenya Army officer involved in the rescue operation said.
By 6pm, the rescuers were still struggling to save a woman who had been communicating with her relatives from the third floor of the building.
“She is speaking to her people, we have spoken to her and she has directed us where she is. We are trying to get her out. We want to drill a hole to see if we will reach her,” Nairobi Provincial deputy police chief Moses Nyakwama said and warned that “rescuers will have to be careful not to injure her or others feared trapped under the rubbles.”
Police Commissioner Mathew Iteere who led the rescue efforts earlier in the day told journalists that two people had been confirmed dead, eight injured while 14 others trapped.
“Rescuers have not been able to remove the bodies of the two people who have died due to logistical problems. We did not have proper equipment but the process of removing them has now commenced,” he said and assured that “we will do everything possible to ensure the rescue operation is successful.”
Relatives and friends camped at the scene and raised fears that the rescuers were taking too long to get their relatives out.
“It is tormenting seeing one of our own lying dead under the concrete. Even if they are dead, they should be removed from there,” one relative who only identified himself as Kevin said.
Kevin’s brother was working at the site as a casual labourer when it tumbled, covering more than 14 people.
The fate of most of them remained unknown by late Tuesday, but rescuers were optimistic of pulling some of them alive “because we are communicating with them. We just hope all goes well.”
Those feared trapped under the rubble were men and women who worked as casual labourers and their managers as well as women who had gone to supply them with food.
“We understand some of the women were hired to sweep the building so that plaster can be applied. There are also those who went to sell food to the workers. Those are the people who are trapped in there,” Nairobi deputy police Chief Mr Nyakwama said.
Witnesses who reside in the neighbouring houses said they first heard the workers screaming as others jumped out before the building went down.
“The whole thing happened in a flash, there were screams all over, then there were people jumping and at that time, the building was already down,” he added.
Mr Iteere told journalists a preliminary investigation had shown the building collapsed as a result of poor structural planning.
“As you can see the structural planning is poor, the materials used are poor. These are issues that must be addressed by the city council and other government bodies responsible for approval of buildings and other structures,” Mr Iteere said.
He said an investigation would be launched to establish other probable causes of the collapse, including reports that it collapsed because it was built on riparian land.
Incidents of buildings under construction collapsing have become common in the recent past in Kenya.
Previous cases have been attributed to the use of substandard materials, poor workmanship and complicity by corrupt council officials.
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