OMM Newsroom
A search and rescue operation is under way for seven people feared trapped beneath rubble after a building collapsed in Nairobi, according to the BBC.
Footage showed the building’s lowest floor giving way before the rest of the structure crumpled, sending dust into nearby streets. The block was thought to be 16 or 18 storeys high.
Dozens of builders were working on the upper floors when the building collapsed on Friday afternoon. The seven missing people were thought to have been in shops that had opened on the ground floor.
Interior Ministry official Kipchumba Murkomen said 66 of the 67 construction workers in the building had escaped unharmed. The other worker suffered injuries that were not life-threatening.
The building was still under construction, with scaffolding visible around its exterior. Officials said 11 shops had already opened on the lower floors.
Images from Nairobi’s Eastleigh area showed concrete floors piled on top of one another as rescuers cut through metal to reach people believed to be trapped. The Daily Nation reported that concerns about limiting air supply led emergency responders to stop using diggers during excavation.
The collapse has raised questions about the cause and whether the building complied with planning regulations. Kenya’s National Construction Authority said it had identified the company behind the development, as well as the architect and structural engineer, but did not say whether the site had been inspected before Friday.
Nairobi Governor Sakaja Johnson told local media that the building’s owners did not have the required paperwork for it to be occupied. He urged the national government to give local authorities greater powers to penalise “developers who disregard approved building plans and safety standards”.
Building collapses are not uncommon in Nairobi, where poor construction or improper planning are often cited as contributing factors.
