Roundup: Kenya demolishes unsafe buildings as death toll rises to 42 in building collapse

Kenyan authorities on Friday begun demolition of unsafe residential buildings in Nairobi as death toll from a collapsed building in Huruma estate rose to 42 on Friday.

National Disaster Management Unit (NDMU) Incident Commander Pius Masai said six more bodies were pulled from the rubble of a six-storey residential building which collapsed in Nairobi a week ago due to heavy rains.

Masai said the number of those who have been rescued stand at 140 while 71 persons are still missing and feared trapped inside the debris.

"The rescue team retrieved one body from the rubble of the building on Friday while others were removed on Thursday night. The search and rescue operations are still continuing," Masai said in Nairobi.

The rescue teams found a cockerel alive under the rubble of the collapsed building early on Friday, raising hopes of finding more survivors from the debris.

The exercise continues after four people - three women and a man were rescued from the rubble and taken to the Kenyatta National Hospital on Thursday.

However, one of the women was pronounced dead on arrival at the referral hospital as she was in a critical condition and lacked oxygen.

Sources said the rescue and recovery mission will be through by Saturday adding that the government will conduct DNA tests on bodies that will not be identifiable.

Meanwhile, the National Construction Authority (NCA) has released a list of 204 unsafe residential buildings. Some ten houses will be brought down in Huruma estate where the building collapsed last week.

Occupants of the condemned buildings have already been evacuated from the five houses earmarked for demolition Friday. The five condemned houses in Huruma are just a few meters from the six-storey ill-fated building.

Public Works Principal Secretary Pail Mwangi said the five condemned buildings are unsafe for occupation and are built on riparian land.

Mwangi said 15 other houses here in the city which have been declared unfit for occupation will be demolished from next week.

The NCA is charged with regulation and coordination of the construction sector, and blamed the rampant collapse of buildings on lack of coordination among regulatory bodies that oversee different segments of the sector.

The ill-fated building in Huruma, according to residents, was built on a waterway, blocking the passage of water which could have weakened its structure and collapsed after heavy rains and flooding last Friday night.

There was no construction plan and that the building had not been approved. Residents said owners and developers of such structures regularly use court orders to block Nairobi County from pulling down structures earmarked for demolition.

Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta has promised severe punishment for all those responsible for the collapse of the six-storey residential building. Endit