SEVEN PUPILS KILLED, SEVERAL INJURED AS CLASSROOM WALL COLLAPSES IN KENYA

By Staff Reporter, Nairobi KENYA

Seven pupils have been confirmed dead and several others injured after a wall collapsed on them at Precious Talent School in Ng’ando area along Ngong road in Nairobi City, Kenya.

The incident is reported to have happened at around 6:45 A.M as the pupils were reporting to school.

Rescue teams have been deployed to the school.

Four of the injured pupils have been rushed to Kenyatta National Hospital for emergency care.

The two-storey building in Ng’ando area caved in and came down a few minutes to 7am.

St John's Ambulance Communications manager Fred Majiwa said the tragedy lefty 10 other pupils injured and admitted at the Kenyatta National Hospital.

He said the two storey building made of iron sheets and wood collapsed several minutes to 7.00am.

According to him, the upper floor which was made of concrete curved in and collapsed on the pupils who were in the lower classes.

He said each floor was made up of four classrooms.

Currently we can confirm that four pupils have succumbed to the injuries at a local dispensary, while two more have been retrieved from the rubble,' Majiwa said.

He said currently the rescue teams have managed to comb through all the rubble, but will give a detailed information.

TV footage showed rescue teams from Kenya Red Cross, St John’s Ambulance, school workers, residents and other Good Samaritans combing through the rubble and lifting blocks as they battled to save the trapped children.

Some of the rescuers used rudimentary tools, including sticks, to dig up the rubble as many parents watched in despair.

Rescue teams comb through the rubble as they battle to save trapped pupils after a classroom collapsed on them at Precious Talent School on Ngong Road in Nairobi County on September 23, 2019

The school managers could not estimate the number of pupils who were in class when the building came tumbling down at 6.50am.

According to parents, the school managers called them immediately to notify them of the collapse.

The classes that collapsed were housing the junior primary pupils but the most affected are those in Standard Six, Seven and Eight on the ground floor, who were trapped in rubble.

Basic Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang is among the first senior government officials to arrive at the scene of desperation.

There were no fire engines on site and many used bare hands to save lives, bringing into question the city county’s disaster preparedness.