Mother of Kenya building collapse miracle baby dies

Nairobi (AFP) - The mother of a seven-month-old girl miraculously pulled alive after four days in the rubble of a collapsed building in Nairobi has been found dead, rescue workers said Wednesday.

The baby, Delarine Saisi, was found dehydrated but without visible physical injuries 80 hours after the six-storey block collapsed on Friday during heavy rains, killing at least 26 people.

Pius Masai, head of Kenya's natural disaster management unit, told a press conference that Delarine's father had said the mother's body had been found.

"He has... confirmed that the mother of the child is dead and was found at a distance away from the child," Masai said.

Two brothers who own the building are in police custody but have not been charged, as rescue efforts continue with more than 80 people still missing.

Located in the poor, tightly-packed Huruma neighbourhood, the building, which housed around 150 families crammed into single rooms, had been slated for demolition after being declared structurally unsound.

But an evacuation order for the structure, which was built near a river just two years ago, was ignored.

Several buildings have collapsed in recent years in Nairobi and other Kenyan cities, where a property boom has seen buildings shoot up at speed, often with scant regard for building regulations.