One dead, scores injured after storey building collapses in Kakamega

Rescue operations at Butali trading centre where a building collapsed.

One person died on the spot and scores were left injured after a building under construction collapsed at Butali trading centre in Kakamega North.

The 10.00am incident saw at least seven workers lie in the debris for several hours before a rescue team arrived.

County commissioner Pauline Dolla who arrived at the scene, several hours after the incident, confirmed the death of one of the workers and told journalists that the injured were rushed to different hospitals.

She urged residents to remain calm and let the police conduct investigations to establish the cause of the accident.

“I would like to assure you that we are going to investigate this incident and have the owner of the building arrested and prosecuted if it is true he violated the stipulated rules of construction. You don’t need to be an expert to understand that this building was sub-standard,” she said.

At one moment, residents who had turned up in large numbers to assist in the rescue mission accused the police of taking too much time to call in the excavators to clear the debris.