Five Storey Building Collapse Injuring Student.
On Sunday, March 20, more than 50 students from the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) were evacuated from a five-story residential apartment in Juja, Kiambu County, after it began sinking.
This comes after the building in the university’s ‘Gate C’ area began caving in on Sunday evening, threatening the tenants’ lives. According to preliminary reports, a female student was injured and received medical attention.
Images obtained by Kenyans.co.ke show the building’s ground floor caving in, with windows and metallic doors bulging outwards from their frames. Police officers and county firefighters arrived on the scene to assist with the evacuation of the students.
“About 52 students have been affected by the incident. We moved in quickly to evacuate them in time to ensure no casualties reported so far,” a Kiambu County official told the media.
Notably, due to the danger posed by the building, no students were permitted to salvage items from it. The affected students were offered housing by their classmates.
There are ongoing discussions with the school administration to temporarily house the students in university dorms. Some students have complained about losing money, noting that they have only been compensated with their rent deposit.
“What we ask for is that we get compensated. Personally, I am left with nothing, yet I am supposed to complete my studies. The Ksh6,740 deposit refund will be f much help because I have nothing; no clothes, no food and nowhere to stay,” one of the students lamented
The Kiambu County government ordered the building’s immediate demolition, which was carried out by county engineers. The operation was carefully carried out to ensure that the adjacent buildings were not harmed.
Furthermore, officials have launched a crackdown on county buildings to assess their safety. This is the second building in the county to develop structural warning signs this month.
On March 6, a five-story building under construction in Kinoo collapsed. At midnight, the building caved in due to its ground flour, causing it to lean on an adjacent apartment building, necessitating the immediate evacuation of tenants.
The county ordered that the structure be demolished. The incident sparked a debate about who should be held accountable.
Five Storey Building Collapse Injuring Student
