NDOC calls for patience as rescue efforts continue in Huruma

National Disaster Operation Centre (NDOC) Director, Nathan Kigotho, has called for patience as rescue workers comb through rubble searching for survivors of the Huruma building collapse, explaining that they are working as quickly as they possibly can.

The Kenya Red Cross, the National Youth Service, and the military are still conducting manual rescue efforts – a situation that has some people asking why the rescuers are not using machines to expedite the process.

“It appears that some people are getting impatient. As it is, we have indications that some people are still trapped in the rubble and we don’t want to use the heavy machines because the rubble is likely to crumble and crush them,” he explained.

Kigotho insisted that they are moving with speed in mind, adding that rescuers are prioritising the saving of lives to expedience.

“We are trying to save any life that we can before we bring in the heavy machinery. I would like people to be patient; it is a balance of saving lives and trying to move with speed,” the NDOC boss added.

Kigotho confirmed that 132 people had been rescued from the rubble, adding that teams are still in communication with some people who are trapped in the building.

The death toll of the Huruma incident has risen to 8, with the total number of people killed as a result flood-related incidents in Nairobi standing at 15.

President Uhuru Kenyatta briefly visited the site of the collapse, but he declined to give a statement opting to speak to rescue officials instead.

An arrest warrant has been issued for the building owner, but he is yet to be apprehended.