Two killed after Nairobi building collapses

By AFP

Kenya

JUN 14, 2011 LISTEN

Kenyan rescuers arrive at the scene after a building collapsed. By Simon Maina (AFP)

NAIROBI (AFP) - At least two workers were killed and more than a dozen missing in Nairobi after a half-finished building collapsed Tuesday, witnesses and officials said.

Eight workers were injured and another 14 were believed to be trapped under the rubble in the Kenyan capital's Embakassi district, a police official said.

The six-storey building suddenly crumbled around noon local time like a house of cards as floors rapidly buckled beneath each other until they formed a mountain of debris, an AFP photographer said.

"Witnesses said that many workers were at the site when the incident took place," said Red Cross spokeswoman Nelly Muluka.

Two bodies were were recovered and rescuers were trying to free a woman trapped in the rubble.

"She is still conscious. She is communicating with us and guiding our search," Kenyan police deputy official Moses Nyakwama told AFP.

But another official warned that rescue efforts were likely to be slow. "We need to first remove the upper floors, which will take time," he said.