6-storey building collapses in Nairobi floods, 17 dead

Nairobi, April 30

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Rescuers in the Kenyan capital made desperate efforts today to free survivors, including a woman and child, trapped in a building that collapsed in storms that have left 17 persons dead.

President Uhuru Kenyatta visited the wreck of the six-storey building today, where 10 lives perished after concrete floors collapsed down on top of each other during torrential rainstorms yesterday.

The two-year-old building, home to more than over 150 families, had been condemned by building authorities but the order had been ignored.

“Ten bodies have been recovered, and we have 80 persons who have been treated and discharged from hospital,” Interior Minister Joseph Nkaissery said. Seven other persons died in floods elsewhere in Nairobi, including four killed when a wall collapsed.

“There is a woman in the building and her child who are alive, and all efforts are being made to rescue them, as well as other people still believed to be in the building,” Nkaissery said. But access for rescuers with larger machinery has been made difficult by the crowded streets. — AFP