Two die, 14 still missing as flat crumbles

By Cyrus Ombati

At least two construction workers died while 14 people were unaccounted for by yesterday evening after a building collapsed and buried them alive in Nairobi’s Pipeline estate in Embakasi.

It was feared those missing were still trapped in a rubble after a six-storey building they were constructing caved in while eight were rescued and rushed to hospital.

Rescuers made desperate attempts to pull out survivors but they made little progress as a combined force from the military, police and emergency desperately fought to free the workers.

And by last night, 10 victims pulled out of the rubble were fighting for their lives at the Kenyatta National Hospital while nursing multiple injuries after the 10.30am incident.

Hundreds of onlookers jammed the scene creating another nightmare for the rescue team, forcing police to lob teargas canisters to disperse them and allow disaster teams, ambulances and fire brigade engines into the area.

It was lucky escape for two of the workers who were rescued at about 6pm, more than six hours after they were trapped under the rubble.

Incident Commander Brig George Owino said another disaster could happen in the area after hundreds of people eager to see what was happening, crowded into and damaged other sorrounding buildings under construction.

Government response was poorly co-ordinated as the team joined the rescue operations almost four hours late. The house was just two months old and the owner was rushing the process to enable him accommodate tenants by October, locals claimed.

Critics pointed fingers at the City Council Planning Department and the Architectural Association for turning a blind eye to such constructions leading to such a disaster.

It was not immediately clear how the construction was cleared by authorities and those charged with responsibility of inspection and standards.

Among those missing were two women who had arrived there to cook for the workers and supply water to them.

Fruitless efforts

They had been communicating with a group of rescuers while demanding to be given water but that proved difficult because they were under three heavy slabs.

They went silent hours later and even calls they had allegedly been making to the rescuers and relatives ceased. Their mobile phones went unanswered. The scenes reminded Kenyans of the common feature of those trapped using mobile phones to communicate in distress.

For Eric Oduor, one of the unlucky victims, he tried to free himself after the building collapsed but he could not. His brother Moses who was also at the construction site made fruitless efforts to free him from the rubbles.

All he did was to watch from a distance, helplessly, as Eric breathed his last moments, painfully, in a disaster that could have been avoided.

His death was witnessed as he writhed in pain while stretching his hand out hoping for help in vain.

"Part of his right hand was trapped and there was no way we could have pulled him from there. He died as we watched," said a witness.

Moses walked away from the scene without uttering a word to journalists at the scene. He had earlier on came near to the body of Eric, which could be partially visible before he turned away in disbelieve.

Those who were rescued looked frail, dusty, writhing in pain and bleeding.

Rescue workers at hand rushed them into waiting ambulances for first aid.

There were more than 20 people in the building at the time of the incident and they were working on first to fourth floors.

According to witnesses, the employees, who earned between Sh200 and Sh400 daily, were plastering rooms of the building.

Experts said the incident was caused by use of poor construction materials. The site of the house is near a swamp and it was sandwiched between others also under construction. The owner of the house who was only identified as Mr Mbogo vanished from the scene soon after the incident and efforts to trace him for questioning were unfruitful by time of going to press.

He allegedly planned to put up a seventh floor after the workers were through with the plastering. According to some of the workers at the neighbouring building, the affected house first collapsed on the rear side.

Proper co-ordination

This prompted those inside to rush to the opposite direction in efforts to escape but were trapped as it caved in within a short while.

"There is no way they could have made it because they were on the upper floors and there were doors. That is why you are seeing these bodies on this side," said a witness Joel Muoki.

Another worker said he felt something like a tremble before he saw a thick cloud of dust. It was then he realised the neighbouring building was not standing.

"I knew something was wrong and rushed there as the rescue efforts started. We first rescued five workers who were trapped on the rear side before officials from Red Cross, St Johns and Fire department arrived.

The scene of the incident was full of confusion and lacked proper co-ordination as crowds surged forward.

At the scene, there was one crane and a bulldozer that could do little in carrying the heavy boulders that had lied on each other tightly.

It took the arrival of more police officers, army personnel and tractors to have a co-ordinated search.

Commissioner of Police Mathew Iteere, who visited the scene, said relevant authorities would seek to establish what went wrong.

"There seems to be a case of negligence from some quarters because even by looking at it, one can tell there was a problem from the beginning. We will pursue it and lawful action will follow," said Iteere.

Removal of the boulders

Kenya Army and Red Cross officials have put up tents at the scene to help in co-ordination of the search, counselling and rescue mission.

Bulldozers, cranes and trucks from Kenya Builders and China Road Contractors came in handy as they helped in moving two 40-feet containers that were at site and cleared the swamp to enable the removal of the boulders.

Officials at the scene said it might take at least two days to clear the slabs, bricks and get to the bottom of the building.