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Aid Workers Say Hopes Fading For Kenyan Building Collapse Survivors

As rescue efforts continue to save more persons in the rubble of a collapsed building in Kenya’s capital, aid workers said hopes were fading of … Continue reading Aid Workers Say Hopes Fading For Kenyan Building Collapse Survivors


Nairobi-Kenya

Kenya-Building-collapseAs rescue efforts continue to save more persons in the rubble of a collapsed building in Kenya’s capital, aid workers said hopes were fading of finding more survivors.

The death toll in the building collapse has reached 21.

Residents and rescue workers have been sifting through piles of broken concrete at the site in the eastern Huruma suburb ever since, rescuing 135 people, according to the latest police figures.

Kenya-Building-collapse-rescue
The building, which collapsed on Friday, has been home to at least 300 people

Police said they were questioning the owner of the six-storey residential block that collapsed late on Friday after days of heavy rain and floods, but no one had been charged.

Conditions were getting more challenging, Kenya Red Cross told Reuters.

“In conditions of no air, dirt, no food, no water, it’s very difficult for that person to stay alive,” Red Cross official Anthony Mwangi said.

Authorities had condemned the 198-room building and there has been no official explanation of why it remained occupied. They said it had no occupation and planning permits.

Government critics have blamed the collapse on corruption which they said was rampant and real estate developers who, according to them, often violate construction codes to minimise costs, with little or no penalties from authorities.