Forty victims were retrieved alive from the rubble of the building that collapsed in Kapsabet, Nandi county, yesterday. Rescue efforts are ongoing. The three-floor building collapsed shortly after 2pm, burying about 60 people.
The building was under construction. Its owner, Aggrey Simani, said 17 casual labourers hired in the morning were still missing. He said he had adhered to the construction code.
Some of those trapped inside included three food hawkers who at the time of the incident were serving workers. One, identified as Mama Queen, made calls from inside the rubble asking for help, but by 4pm her phone stopped.
Officers from the Red Cross and the county emergency department worked round the clock to remove the rubble and save lives.
Kapsabet County Referral Hospital, whose nurses called off the strike on Wednesday, attended to the 40 casualties. Some workers were painting in the basement, as others fixed electric cables. Others were plastering the walls of the first and second floor.