Rescue efforts ongoing at collapsed building site

Written By:Glena Nyamwaya/Halligan Agade,    Posted: Wed, Jun 15, 2011

Rescue teams have cited lack of access into the debris as frustrating the rescue efforts Rescue efforts are still underway Wednesday to try and save at least 14 construction workers who remain trapped in rubble following the collapse of a building under construction in Embakasi on Tuesday. Confirmed reports indicated that two people had lost their lives on Tuesday, with five others being rescued and rushed to hospital. The incident is one of the latest in a series of tragedies that has hit the city of Nairobi and seen people lose their lives. It is reported that an unknown number of workers were on  site at the time of the collapse, with the workers who were rescued approximating that at least 14 of their colleagues could still be trapped in the debris. When rescue operations closed Tuesday evening, a woman could be heard calling for help from the rubble, but as of the latest reports, no cry of help can be established. Kenya Army officials joined in the rescue efforts early Wednesday morning but the main challenge remains access by rescue equipment to penetrate the rubble due to the extent of the destruction. So far, the rescue efforts have seen only the top floor of the six-storey building lifted from the debris with no rescue made so far, as the team struggles to get to the bottom floor where many of the workers are suspected to be trapped. Protection of workers The Central Organisation of Trade Unions (COTU) has through a statement expressed its dismay by the frequent loss of lives of innocent workers through unending collapse of buildings under construction. The statement reads in part "It is absurd that despite such buildings having been authorized and approved by the relevant officers of Government and/or by City Council, no individual has ever taken responsibility and we continue to witness the usual blame games being played out with senior Government Officials who are always quick to visit such sites "to console families of victims" promising all manner of measures that remain an end in themselves." COTU is now demanding that the City Council Planning and Inspectorate Department (CCPID) together with the Architectural Association of Kenya (AAK) come out and clarify to the public how such buildings came up without their approval. The union body says that Kenyans cannot continue to lose lives and suffer injuries with those in authority trading accusations and thriving on flimsy excuses like lack of enough personnel to inspect such construction work. Further we urge the Ministry of Labour and Human Resource Development's Inspectorate Department rise to the occasion and inspect construction sites with a view to taking remedial measures to avoid such tragedies to workers. Poor structural planning  Police commissioner Mathew Iteere who visited the site Tuesday said that preliminary investigations had indicated that the building collapsed as a result of poor structural planning. And so the question lingers as to whom between the city planners or construction engineers is responsible for approving such constructions. Incidents of buildings under construction collapsing have become common in the recent past with previous cases having been attributed to use the of substandard materials and poor workmanship. The year 2009 saw six people lose their lives after a three-story building collapsed in Kiambu with experts issuing an alert on the irresponsible contractors. In 2006, a building also under construction in Nairobi's downtown area collapsed, killing 11 people and injuring many others.