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Search for survivors continues after collapse of Nairobi apartments | Search for survivors continues after collapse of Nairobi apartments |
(35 minutes later) | |
Rescue workers are continuing to search for residents feared trapped in the rubble of a six-storey building that collapsed in Nairobi after days of heavy rain, killing at least seven people. | |
The building in the Huruma residential estate collapsed late on Friday. Kenyan television stations showed rescue and security workers working through rubble and heavy slabs of concrete. It is not known how many people were in the building at the time of its collapse. | |
Japheth Koome, of Nairobi County police, told Reuters: “Seven people are confirmed dead and 121 people have been rescued and rushed to various hospitals in Nairobi.” | |
The collapse raised concerns about the safety of other blocks in the area. “It is raining, and these houses were built without Nairobi County authorisation,” Jonathan Mueke, deputy governor of Nairobi County, said on the privately owned QTV station. “I am asking residents in the area to leave. In the area where this one collapsed there are 189 houses.” | |
Kenyan Red Cross said on its Twitter feed late on Friday that people from 150 households were taking shelter in a nearby village. | Kenyan Red Cross said on its Twitter feed late on Friday that people from 150 households were taking shelter in a nearby village. |
“We don’t know how many people are under the rubble, but we fear there are still several of them,” Arnolda Shiundu, a spokeswoman for the Kenyan Red Cross, told AFP. | “We don’t know how many people are under the rubble, but we fear there are still several of them,” Arnolda Shiundu, a spokeswoman for the Kenyan Red Cross, told AFP. |
“It is too early to speak about dead people, we don’t have that information. We are still searching. A crane has arrived, ambulances are here.” | “It is too early to speak about dead people, we don’t have that information. We are still searching. A crane has arrived, ambulances are here.” |
The Daily Nation newspaper reported that scores more people were feared trapped. KTN said 58 people had been rescued from the rubble, including a baby, but most residents were trapped inside. | |
The television pictures showed a large crowd surrounding the building as police and rescue workers tried to remove debris, passing chunks of masonry to one another by hand. | The television pictures showed a large crowd surrounding the building as police and rescue workers tried to remove debris, passing chunks of masonry to one another by hand. |
Nairobi has been experiencing a building boom for some years but the quality of materials used and speed of construction have sometimes been called into question. | |
The growing middle class has triggered an explosion in demand for housing and a rise in property prices in the east African capital. | The growing middle class has triggered an explosion in demand for housing and a rise in property prices in the east African capital. |