Section of SGR line under construction collapses killing two people

NAIROBI, KENYA: Government officers have now moved in to investigate collapse of a section of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) in Mai Mahiu that left two people dead.

Engineers drawn from various government agencies visited the scene near Satellite area after the Monday afternoon accident.

The incident occurred even as workers around the multi-billion project accused the Chinese contractor of failing to fully address safety issues.

During the incident, a section of the railway line (Nairobi-Olkaria) which is under construction collapsed burying six workers.

Two of the workers were confirmed dead on arrival at Mai Mahiu health center while four others who were seriously injured have since been transferred to Kikuyu Mission Hospital.

According to Naivasha sub-county commissioner Isaac Masinde, the government officers were keen to review the ongoing works and establish the main cause of the accident.

Speaking on Tuesday, Masinde called for patience noting that it was too early to start pointing fingers following the accident.

 “The Chinese contractor is only concerned with the works but not the lives of the workers who are working in inhumane conditions,” he said.

He added that they were working in dusty conditions and ferried to their work of place in open trucks thus exposing them to all manner of calamities.