Two people have been confirmed dead after a five-storey building under construction collapsed in Ruaka, Kiambu county.
The two, a man aged 73 and his wife were sleeping at their residential home that was fell on by the building.
Kiambu county governor Kimani Wamatangi accompanied by County Commissioner Joshua Nkanatha confirmed their demise at the scene of the incident.
The governor said that preliminary investigations attributed the incident to poor workmanship, with reports indicating that the building was condemned and construction halted over several non-compliance issues.
“We will traverse every corner of Kiambu to ensure all buildings under construction comply with the set standards,” Wamatangi said.
He also said that the matter has also been subject of investigations by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).
He directed that investigations be conducted on all buildings under construction in the county and those found to have violated construction regulations, a notice will be issued to halt the construction immediately and demolition to be conducted to avert further loss of lives.
Rescue operations are currently underway by teams from the national and county government and the Kenya Red Cross at the scene of the incident.
