Kenya: Kisii Building Collapse – Rescue Operation Called Off

One person remains unaccounted for as emergency teams called off rescue operations in Kisii where a building collapsed killing seven people.

A three-storey building under construction collapsed at Mwembe on Wednesday morning.

Rescuers, mostly using rudimentary tools, pulled more than 20 people from the rubble and rushed them to the nearby Christa Marianne Mission and Kisii Teaching and Referral hospitals.

NO HOPE

The team consisting of the Red Cross, the military and Kisii County Disaster staff combed through the debris throughout the night before the exercise was terminated Thursday morning.

The National Disaster Management Unit Communications Officer Pius Maasai said chances were slim of finding more survivors.

He said a man was still missing by close of the rescue operations at 4.30am.

A woman was pulled out of the rubble last night after rescuers heard her calling for help.

More than 20 people are admitted to the Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital and another five to Christa Marianne.

First witnesses at the scene said they saw several people on top of the building before it came tumbling down.

Mr Julius Orare, who lives a few metres from the collapsed building, said he was taking a shower when he heard a tremor.

“I peeped through the bathroom window and saw the building in a heap,” he said.

A survivor, Mr Fidelis Onduso, who is nursing injuries, said he heard a huge bang.

“When I looked up, the house fell on me but luckily I was saved by well-wishers who rushed me to hospital,” he said.