Death Toll from Murang’a Building Collapse Climbs to Six

The death toll from the hotel building that collapsed in Murang’a on Friday has risen to six as search and rescue efforts entered day three on Sunday.

Speaking at the site on Sunday morning, Roads and Infrastructure Cabinet Secretary James Macharia said five bodies have so far been retrieved from the rubble.

One person was rescued alive but he died from his injuries while undergoing treatment at a local hospital, raising the number of deaths from the tragedy to six.

“We will definitely take action on all those who were involved, from county team to national government. We will not want to have a recurrence of this kind of incident because it negates all the good work which has been done. Developers must be clear that they are doing investment in a safe environment,” CS Macharia told reporters.

He urged all county governments to ensure all building requirements are met before issuing permits and conduct regular inspections on construction sites.

The search and rescue operation is expected to be completed by end of business on Sunday. The six-storey building at SunStar Hotel in Gatanga, Murang’a County crumbled on Friday afternoon, trapping an unknown number of construction workers.

Authorities are in pursuit of three people said to be directors of the collapsed hotel building that was under construction.

“We are tracking down the hotel owners. We understand there are three directors who manage the facility and the contractor on site, we have been told he is somewhere in Nyanza and we have sent a team there,” Central Regional Commissioner Wilfred Nyagwanga said.

Murang’a Governor Mwangi wa Iria says those responsible should face the full force of the law.

“Supervisory role is very clear, all from foundation to 6th floor there is to be constant supervision. Why are we surprised that when we are on the sixth floor that building comes down?” he posed.