People Missing In Kenya Building Collapse
At least four people are still missing after the collapse of a seven-storey building in the Kenyan capital Nairobi overnight, the Red Cross said on Tuesday.
The incident occurred in a very poor neighbourhood near Nairobi’s international airport southeast of the capital, Red Cross spokeswoman Noellah Musundi told AFP.
“The information is still scanty (about) the exact number of missing people, but at this stage, a mother and her three children are missing,” she said.
Police and local residents said the authorities had been alerted on Monday evening after cracks appeared in the building, prompting an urgent evacuation before it collapsed two hours later, at around 10:00 pm (1900 GMT).
“The collapse was not completely unexpected, which allowed us to evacuate most of the people,” said Musundi of the incident which occurred in the Kware area of Mukuru Kwa Reuben, one of the biggest slums in Nairobi.
According to Pius Masai, a spokesman for the National Disaster Management Unit, 128 tenants had been rescued and accounted for by midday.
“Most families cooperated and (were) evacuated safely. However, it is believed that some people may have been trapped. Rescue efforts are ongoing,” he said.
He said the rescue operation was difficult since space was limited and the adjacent seven-storey building also appeared unstable.
“It is a very delicate operation but we hope to finish it safely,” he said.
Tenants in the adjacent building were asked to evacuate.
