Nairobi, Kenya – A five-story building collapsed today in central Nairobi with more than 280 construction workers inside, killing at least 10 people and injuring more than 60, witnesses and officials said.
Dozens of rescuers dug into the rubble with their bare hands while the injured were loaded into any available car to be taken to hospitals. The hand of one trapped person could be seen waving for help from under a concrete beam.
Tens of thousands of people ran to the site, clogging roads and climbing atop the debris to watch the rescue. Riot police deployed to the area began using truncheons to beat back the crowds and to clear roads for emergency vehicles At the same time, however, police called for anyone with emergency training to come to the scene and help the rescue.
Kenyatta General Hospital issued an appeal for blood donations.
Dozens of soldiers, firefighters, police officers and Red Cross workers responded, using crow bars and metal cutters to free those trapped.
An Associated Press reporter at the scene saw eight bodies of those killed in the collapse.
More than 60 seriously injured people were taken to Kenyatta General Hospital, where two victims died while being treated, said Charity Ngilu, the health minister.
Ngilu said she didn’t have any information from the private hospitals yet where other victims were taken.
One of the construction workers said that 280 men were on the site. Another, who would not give his name, said an inspector had warned last week that the structure was unsafe and they were trying to stabilize the building.
“We saw the building sink slowly and then sway from side to side. As we saw this, we fled the area. We never got that far – it collapsed,” said Serengo Wekesa, who had been working at a neighboring building.
He added that several women had set up stalls inside the building to sell food to workers and they had their children with them.
One worker, James Ofunyi, said the workers were on their lunch break, with many asleep in the building when it collapsed.
“I was taking a nap after having had lunch when I heard someone shouting to run, but I didn’t get downstairs fast enough because the building started falling,” Ofunyi said. “I jumped to the other side.” Immediately after the collapse, hundreds of bystanders formed lines to carry away chunks of concrete and wooden scaffolding, which a front loader then pushed away from the site.
Two survivors were pulled from the building more than an hour after the collapse, prompting the crowds to erupt in cheers. But there were fears that more people were caught between the floors that collapsed on top of one another.
Parts of the exterior walls were still standing.
The lower floors of the building were filled with construction workers when it suddenly collapsed, said one of the laborers, Patrick Opiyo, who was digging for survivors.
“This is all about building standards,” said army Brig. George Kyaka, who was leading the military response. “But those who are alive are the priority now.” Vice President Moody Awori visited the scene to check on the rescue effort.
“It is very important that we put in place mechanisms to ensure that only properly designed buildings are built,” Awori said, declining to comment further.
