Rescue mission at Huruma collapsed building ends

The rescue exercise at the collapsed Huruma building came to an end yesterday at 6am.

The search for missing persons now shifts to Nairobi River and its environs.

Yesterday, Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) Regional Manager Michael Ayebei said that only 28 persons were missing out of the initial 47.

"Our tracing team has been working round the clock to make sure all people are accounted for and between Saturday evening and Sunday morning we have been able to trace 19 persons from the 47 who were reported missing," said Ayebei.

He also revealed that police will open files for people who occupied the building who are yet to be found.

He said 11 persons are still in hospital and as at yesterday, only 16 of the 49 reported dead had been identified.

166 hours

Incident Commandant from the National Disaster Management Unit (NDMU) Pius Masai asked KRCS to make the names of the missing people public so as to facilitate the search efforts.

The team which has sifting through the debris looking for life for 166 hours has already embarked on the similarly daunting task of looking for bodies in the river.

"We realised when the river is full it flows at a speed of over 50km/h so if someone fell or dived in they could have been swept away," said Masai.

The building collapsed on April 29 at 9pm after a week of heavy rains: "I regret the operation took so long but we were able to retrieve 140 persons alive."

Masai however said the figure of the 49 dead might increase as there is news that two of the victims at Kenyatta Hospital had passed on.

At the site, tattered beddings, broken furniture, cooking utensils are strewn all over.

A wet King James bible was among these clutter. In the bible, there were house rent receipts of Sh3,500 each for Block D House Number Four from Sakamu Agenices for a tenant only referred to as Mrs Susan.

Mrs Susan had also tucked in the bible a photo of a man taken somewhere in the 1980s.

Curious residents yesterday got a chance to view the site for the first time where the storey building which housed their neighbours and friends stood.

Architect Peter Moturi from the National Building Inspectorate said only four per cent of the buildings in Huruma are legal: "...and these are the old ones. The rest 96 per cent are new and none is compliant."

He said an inspection exercise will start on May 10 countrywide and all buildings will be assessed by qualified architects and a report submitted which will determine the next plan of action.

"We have deployed at least five officers in each county to take up the work," he said.

The death toll of the Huruma building collapse stands at 49. According to reports, the building had been earmarked for demolition, but local authorities had not acted.