8 dead and several others injured after a crane collapsed in Nairobi

Eight people have been found dead after a crane collapsed at a building site in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi while several others have also been reported injured.

Reports claim that two of the deceased are Chinese citizens while the other six are Kenyans. The accident occurred at a site where a 14- storey student hostel was being built. According to witnesses, the crane collapsed as it was being dismantled by workers.

People are being evacuated from the scene. Though the cause of the collapse is not immediately known people who were close to the incident said they heard the sound of the fall and the screams of the victims.

“We were having launch when we heard things falling and thought part of the building was coming down”.

Kenya is undergoing a construction boom but sources claim corruption has allowed contractors to cut corners. At least three people died in December 2019 when a residential building collapsed in Nairobi.

That incident came three months after seven children died when their school collapsed in an accident which was blamed on a third-rate construction. In April 2016, 49 people were killed when a six-floor building crumbled in Nairobi.

The 14- storey student hostel was being supervised by a Chinese Construction Firm called Zhejiang Chengjian Construction Africa Limited. A statement has been released by the firm saying it has sealed off the site and currently cooperating with the authorities amidst Police investigations.

By: George Addo | Join our Telegram Channel

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