Seven missing after multi-storey building collapses in Kenya’s capital

A search and rescue effort is under way to find seven people feared trapped under rubble after a building collapsed in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

Dramatic footage shows the bottom floor of the block, thought to have been 16 or 18 storeys, giving way before the rest of the building crumples, sending a plume of dust into the surrounding streets.

Dozens of builders had been working on the upper floors when it collapsed, but managed to emerge largely unscathed. Those missing were thought to have been in shops that had opened at the base of the building.

The incident has raised fresh concerns about construction standards and regulations in Kenya.

The block was under construction when it collapsed on Friday afternoon, with footage showing scaffolding still wrapped around the outside of the building. Officials said 11 shops had already opened on the bottom floors.

Interior ministry official Kipchumba Murkomen said 66 of the 67 construction workers in the building at the time had been able to get out unharmed, while the other had suffered injuries that were not life-threatening.

Images from the scene, in Nairobi’s Eastleigh area, show the concrete floors of the building piled on top of one another, as rescue workers saw through metal to get to those believed to have been stuck underneath.

Rescue efforts have been complicated by concerns that excavation using diggers could limit the supply of air to those trapped, prompting emergency responders to cease using them, according to the Daily Nation newspaper.

Questions have emerged about why the building suddenly collapsed and whether it met planning regulations.

Kenya’s National Construction Authority said in a statement that 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 owners of the building did not have the required paperwork for the building 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, with poor construction or improper planning often cited as contributing factors

Source: BBC News