4 Rescued After Building Collapses In Murang'a, Traps Several Construction Workers [PHOTOS]

Four people have been rescued after a three-storey building that was under construction collapsed on Monday, June 19 evening near Sagana stage in Murang'a County.

One more person was rescued after three others had earlier been pulled out of the debris and rushed to Murang'a Level Five Hospital for treatment. The latest person rescued suffered injuries in the limbs.

The County government brought in two excavators to assist in the search and rescue operation as police officers struggled to manage thousands of Murang'a town residents who turned up to witness the exercise.

Scene after a three-storey building in Murang'a collapsed on June 19, 2023. /TWITTER

The building along Jua Kali Road in Murang'a Town collapsed shortly after 4.30 pm, as those in the neighbourhood heard cries for help from people trapped inside the debris.

One of the victims could be heard pleading for help and asking for water.

A resident who witnessed the collapse stated that he saw the building crumbling while he was in a nearby petrol station. According to him, the building tilted and then fell over but the collapse was slowed down by a slope on the side of the building.

"As it came down we heard people shouting for help from inside and rushed to the scene to try and assist," the resident told The Standard.

Another revealed that she was passing along JuaKali road when the building collapsed, describing that "It was a horrific scene as we could hear the screams of people could be heard awaiting to be rescued."

The crowd that had milled around the building hampered the efforts of rescue teams to advance and had resisted efforts by police to push them away from the scene. A youth was roughed up as he attempted to throw a stone.

Two hours after the collapse, a Good Samaritan drove his earthmover from Maragua to assist in the rescue operations. 

County Police Commander David Mathiu led police in controlling the crowd, adding that police were working with a rescue team to save those trapped inside the rubble.

The building was still under construction at the time of the collapse, with an unknown number of construction workers feared to be still trapped in the rubble following the incident, by the time of publication.

The search and rescue operation will be expected to continue through the night until all the workers at the site are accounted for.

"This building was approved in 2021 according to our records. Better approval considerations should have been made taking into account the area is riparian. Action will be taken against any culprit involved in such approval.

"Murang'a County Government expresses condolences to the families of persons affected by this unfortunate incident. We share in their grief," Murang'a County Governor Irungu Kang'ata confirmed while issuing his statement on the incident.

Onlookers mill around the building that collapsed in Murang'a on Monday, June 19, 2023. /ALICE WAITHERA.THE STAR