Nairobi — A five-storey building that had been housing more than 100 tenants in Ruiru Town, Kiambu County collapsed hours after they had been evacuated.
The building collapsed Monday morning hours after the tenants were evacuated when cracks were seen on its pillars on Sunday afternoon.
Kiambu governor Kimani Wamatangi, together with firefighters led the rescue operations on Sunday after receiving reports on the danger from the National Construction Authority (NCA) and the Ruiru OCPD.
“Tenants can no longer stay in this house because its columns- which are supposed to support it have cracked. It cannot stand for long. If not for the neighbouring house that is supporting it, it could already be down,” he said.
Witnesses said the structure collapsed at about 4 am on Monday.
Police said had the tenants not evacuated it could have been a disaster.
This is the second building to collapse in Kiambu within one week. On November 17, another 5-storey building collapsed in Ruaka, Kiambu County.
The building fell on an adjacent home, killing two tenants.