The building collapsed following a heavy downpour. Photo/KBC
At least four people were killed and scores of others injured after a three-storey building collapsed on Saturday in Luanda, Vihiga county in Western Kenya.
The under-construction building collapsed on Saturday afternoon following a heavy downpour, killing at least four people.
The KBC reported on Sunday that more construction workers and passers-by said to have sheltered at the building during the rain could be trapped in the debris.
According to the Kenya Red Cross, the building had sheltered at least eight people at the time it tumbled down.
“The owner of the building did not involve a structural engineer while putting up the building,” said Eng. George Muyera who was leading the Red Cross rescue mission.
“The ratio of concrete, sand and ballast did not meet the required standards and materials used to reinforce slabs and columns of the building were below standard,” he added.
Eng. Muyera further said that after digging through the debris the rescue team found that the building did not have a foundation.
The Vihiga building collapsed barely three months after two under-construction buildings collapsed in Nairobi’s Embakasi and Lang’ata estates killing four people and injuring scores of others.
The high incidence of building collapse has put credibility of the construction industry’s stakeholders into question.
Recently, the Architectural Association of Kenya chairman Steven Oundo warned that six out of 10 buildings in Nairobi have not been approved – and the number might be higher in other parts of the country.
“Kenya has allowed quacks to take over the construction industry. That is why we are seeing so many buildings collapsing,” said Mr Oundo.
