Recovery efforts were set to continue on Friday. Photo/ MIKE KARIUKI
NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 3 – One person has been killed and four others are still unaccounted for as rescue efforts continue at a collapsed wheat storage silo in Industrial Area on Thursday morning.
Nairobi police chief Japheth Koome told Capital FM News that the man’s body was pulled out in the morning after a night-long search.
He said four more people are suspected to be trapped under the rubble of the wheat store that went down on Wednesday.
“The silos here are very tall and we are being very careful in our rescue efforts. We are using a bulldozer as well as manual labour to scoop out the wheat and so far, we have pulled out the body of one male,” he said.
Koome said that the foundation of the silo situated at the Golden Harvest building collapsed as a result of the heavy rainfall being experienced and trapped the employees.
“The incident occurred at about 4.00pm yesterday. We are being careful because the ground there is unstable and any wrong move can result in deaths,” he said.
“There are also many other silos here and we do not know whether their foundations will also give way,” he stated.
He indicated that rescue efforts are being coordinated by the Nairobi County Government, the Kenya Red Cross Society and the Police.
According to the Kenya Red Cross Society, three people were rescued following the incident which occurred at 4.00pm on Wednesday and rushed to the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH).
“3 people have been rescued, taken to KNH while 4 others are still unaccounted for. Rescue efforts ongoing. Updates to follow,” a statement from KRC twitter pointed out.
Many parts of the country are experiencing heavy rainfall which has affected infrastructure and other amenities.
In Isiolo, most unpaved roads in the county are currently impassable due to the effects of the ongoing rains.
In Tana River County, the floods continue to displace people following the release of water from the upstream dams as a result of an increase in water levels.
According to the Kenya Red Cross, it is anticipated that the number of households affected directly or indirectly by the floods will surpass the projected numbers, if the el-Niño rains persists.
On Monday 30th November, the KRCS response team in partnership with Office of Cohesion and Special Program managed to evacuate seventy (70) of the three hundred (300) marooned households in Sogal , Ongonyo and Ondara village of Kipao location in Tana Delta sub County.
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