Many feared trapped after multistorey building collapses in Kenya

Officials say the building, in Nairobi’s busy Eastleigh area, had no occupation certificate but its ground floor was in use.

Many people are feared to be trapped in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, after a multistorey building under construction collapsed, leaving a huge mound of concrete as rescuers dig through the rubble.

The building came down on Friday at about 1pm local time (10:00GMT) on a busy commercial street in Eastleigh, a neighbourhood crowded with thousands of traders and residents.

Nairobi police chief Issa Mohamud said more than 10 upper floors were under construction. The ground floor had been rented to an electronics shop, a butchery and a grocery, according to The Associated Press news agency.

Al Jazeera’s Catherine Soi, reporting from Nairobi, said the developers and authorities are being asked “to answer now” as people were not supposed to be inside a building under construction.

She said rescue efforts were expected to continue through Friday night and Saturday.

Rescuers used poles stripped from trees and excavators to move concrete bound with steel, as heavy equipment was slow to arrive.

Mohamud said one injured woman had been rescued and taken to hospital, while another person who had been calling for help had gone silent. He warned of a potential second collapse because the building was leaning on its neighbour.

Local media reported looting immediately after the collapse and police firing tear gas to disperse crowds.

‘Our concern is to save lives’

Joseph Kaula, a plasterer working on the fifth floor of the collapsed building, told AP that he was the last person to walk out.

“The whole area was filled with dust,” he said.

Relatives of those trapped said some had phoned for help immediately after the collapse, but their phones later became unreachable. A tent was set up to report missing relatives.

“Our concern is to save lives,” Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja told reporters.

He said the building had been approved for construction but had no certificate of occupation, so opening shops on the ground floor was illegal.

“This has potentially cost lives,” he told reporters on site.

He said that it was possible “one or two” people had died and that more would be known as time went on.

Kenya’s National Building Inspectorate found that 87 percent of buildings audited nationwide last year failed to meet standards or lacked approvals, according to the AFP news agency.

Sakaja said county governments needed stronger enforcement powers, calling lenient penalties a “slap on the wrist”. Police said they would carry out investigations and anyone found negligent would face the law.