Eight dead, scores injured as building collapses

At least eight people were killed and more than 90 injured when a four-storey building under construction in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, collapsed on Monday, police said. Dozens of people, most of them construction workers, are believed to be trapped under tonnes of rubble, said police spokesman Jasper Ombati. Rescue workers from the Kenyan police and military, firefighters, the Kenya Red Cross Society, a team of American Marines and members of the public have been working round the clock to reach those who are trapped under heavy slabs of concrete, which came tumbling down as scores of workers rested inside the building after eating their lunch. Amongst the victims were women vendors who had been serving food to the workers. "They [rescuers] are shifting through the rubble cautiously, trying to reach those who are trapped," said Ombati. Experts from Israel are also expected to join the rescue effort later on Tuesday, he added. At least three of those trapped under the rubble were communicating with the rescuers, according to government spokesman Alfred Mutua. It was not immediately clear why the building had collapsed, but engineers quoted in local media reports had suggested that either the building materials were sub-standard or there were some structural defects in the design. Others expressed misgivings at the speed of the building’s construction, which began in November. They said it was possible that not enough time had been allowed for the concrete to set before other floors were added to the structure. Police and experts from the Nairobi City Council, which approves all building plans in the city, were expected to investigate the incident.