The residential block was made up of 57 single rooms
NAIROBI, Dec 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Latest police figures indicate that four people have died and 29 others were injured after a residential building collapsed in Kenya’s capital city on Friday morning.
So far 11 people have been rescued including a baby, says the Kenyan Red Cross, but it’s feared there are still more people trapped under the debris.
Rescue teams from Kenya’s Disaster Recovery Unit, the police, the Kenya Red Cross, the army and rescue workers deployed by county government are at the scene.
Residents of the Tassia estate where the incident happened were first to the scene and rescued a number of people using only their bare hands, according to Nairobi county police chief Philip Ndolo.
Residents were on hand to rescue ten people from the rubble before emergency services arrived to assist
Military personnel and emergency services later arrived at the site to assist with the search and rescue operation.
The Kenya Red Cross tweeted that it was setting up psychosocial support services and a tracing desk.
Nairobi regional commissioner Wilson Njenga said that 57 rooms had been rented out in the building, and the Red Cross reported that 22 families lived there.
The building’s owner was “not available” said Njenga and did not live in the building.
“We do not have a figure yet,” Peter Abwao, Kenya Red Cross communications manager, said on how many people could be trapped in the collapsed building.
St. John Ambulance Kenya, which is also part of the rescue effort, tweeted “at least five people including a child evacuated to hospital. Rescue operations ongoing.”
It was not immediately clear what caused the accident, but building collapses are common in Nairobi, where housing is in high demand and regulations are not enforced.
A recent survey conducted by Kenya’s National Construction Authority found that 58% of the city’s buildings were unfit for habitation. — NNN-AGENCIES
