Panic has engulfed residents in Ruaka near Fortune Club area after a 6-storey building under construction collapsed in the wee hours of Thursday morning, November 17.
Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke, St John's Ambulance official confirmed that the incident occurred at 5 am after the building collapsed on a neighbouring house with family members who were asleep at the time believed to be trapped.
The officer affirmed that rescue operations are underway to reach the family members and scout for other people trapped in the rubble.
Further, videos circulating online indicated a team of rescuers rushing to remove the rubble in an attempt to rescue the family members.
Witnesses and bystanders were advised to keep a few metres away from the incident as the rescue operation is ongoing.
A conversation captured in the video between two witnesses expressed concerns about the trapped family members.
"The building was under construction. The major predicament is the family that was neighbouring the building," one of the witnesses stated.
The tragedy paints a clear picture of the unscrupulous nature of a section of contractors who in turn endanger the lives of occupants.
It came barely two days after a seven-storey building collapsed in Kasarani. Currently, the death toll stands at three as eight people were rescued from the rubble.
According to the National Construction Authority (NCA), 3 out of 10 buildings under construction in Nairobi county have been found to be non-compliant.
Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja sounded a warning to unethical developers who risk Kenyans' lives due to non-compliance.
"Pull down those buildings yourselves or let us come for you because in search for profits you are endangering lives. We have already changed our county technical approval committee and if I find any officer having been culpable at any point, they will go home and be charged,” he stated.
