Kenya ends evacuations at collapsed building, pledges support for survivors

The Kenyan government and relief agencies on Tuesday officially ended evacuations at the site of the collapsed building in Nairobi's Huruma Estate.

Cabinet Secretary for Public Service Sicily Kariuki, senior government officials and Nairobi lawmakers oversaw the final evacuations at the collapsed six-storey building where 51 people died.

Kariuki said the government will facilitate resettlement of an estimated 140 survivors and their immediate families.

"The national government has set aside an emergency kitty totaling 60,000 U.S. dollars to support resettlement of survivors of the collapsed building. The funds will cater for rent, household items and funeral expenses," she said.

Kariuki revealed that the government will assist 208 families relocate to safer residential premises.

Kariuki said an inter-agency team has also been formed to offer material and psychosocial support to survivors and their next of kin.

"The State will pay school fees to children who survived this tragedy while the youth who assisted in the rescue efforts will be enlisted in the National Youth Service (NYS) where they will be offered technical training," said Kariuki.

She added the government will also enact stringent regulations to restore sanity in the construction industry.

The collapse of the building in the low-income Nairobi's Huruma estate on April 29 sent shockwaves in Kenya and abroad.

According to government statistics, 51 people were confirmed dead by the time the rescue efforts ended on Tuesday while the search for the missing will be intensified.

The rescue and emergency teams had on Monday shifted their focus to the 19 people listed as missing in the aftermath of the Huruma building tragedy.

With fears that some people could have drowned while escaping from the ill-fated building, rescue teams have extended their efforts to the nearby Nairobi River and its environs.

The building, according to residents, was built on a waterway, blocking the passage of water which could have weakened its structure and collapsed after heavy rains and flooding on Friday night.

There was no construction plan and that the building had not been approved. Residents said owners and developers of such structures regularly use court orders to block Nairobi County from pulling down structures earmarked for demolition

Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta has promised severe punishment for all those responsible for the collapse of the building.

Source: XINHUA