Editor's Review

The six-storey building at Old Ruaka Road collapsed in the wee hours of Thursday morning. 

A six-storey building that collapsed in Ruaka, Kiambu county Thursday morning has claimed the lives of a couple.

Their three children were unhurt as they lived in another house in the compound.

The six-storey building at Old Ruaka Road collapsed in the wee hours of the morning and flattened the iron sheet house the couple were spending their night in.

The iron sheet house was standing next to the building that collapsed.

Remains of the building that collapsed in Ruaka. PHOTO | COURTESY

Antony Karomo, who lost his elder brother, struggled to come to terms with the happenings.

“I live in the next building and when I heard the bang, I rushed outside. With the help of others who had come, we pulled out the rubbles but unfortunately, my brother and his wife had died,” he said.

Governor Kimani Wamatangi who was at the scene said they will have an emergency meeting to address the issue of buildings collapsing.

He said they are concerned as a government by the rising number of wanting structures that have cost lives.

“We have agreed to sit down and find immediate ways of addressing this menace. We cannot continue to lose innocent lives like this,” Wamatangi said.

He added that preliminary investigations show the contractor breached some procedures.

“People must face the law if they commit offences. If contractors do not want losses, they must adhere to the rules. We will demolish all buildings that have not been properly built,” he said.

“We will not wait for buildings to collapse. We will pull them down.”