Rescuers suspended work at the site of a collapsed building in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, on Thursday as officials conceded there was virtually no chance of finding any more survivors and an Israeli military team that had been leading the effort prepared to leave.
Three days after the unfinished office building in downtown Nairobi caved in, killing at least 14 people and injuring more than 100, activity came to a halt as the Kenyan government readied a solemn ceremony to honour the victims and thank the Israeli unit, officials said.
”For us, our work is done,” said Major Alberto Alberanze, a member of the Israeli crew. ”The chances of finding life now are very low.”
The departure of the Israelis, who had arrived less than 24 hours after the building collapsed on Monday, marked the unofficial end of the rescue phase of the operation, although Kenyan officials insisted that work would continue at the site immediately after the ceremony.
”The operation will go on,” national police spokesperson Jaspher Ombati said.
”Despite the odds, we [will] still do our best, no matter what the expected outcome,” said Major General Paul Opiyo, who is overseeing the operation for the Kenyan military.
Yet any glimmer of hope for survivors remaining among the unknown number of people trapped in the wreckage appeared to have been extinguished after last-ditch overnight efforts failed to yield any sign of life.
”To be honest, there is absolutely no hope for life here,” said Morris Kangethe, an emergency medic.
More than 200 people, many of them construction workers, were believed to have been in the building or nearby when it collapsed at about 2.30pm local time on Monday.
Officials have put the confirmed toll from the collapse at 14 dead and 106 injured, but said it would likely rise when recovery operations resume.
The last survivors were pulled from the debris on Tuesday shortly after the 140-strong Israeli team arrived with specialised equipment following an urgent request from Kenya, a long-standing African ally of the Jewish state.
Their rescue from the tangled mass of concrete slabs, wire mesh and metal bars was captured in non-stop live television coverage and cheered many in the East African nation that is already struggling with a drought disaster.
But since the recovery of three bodies 24 hours later, searchers have been unable to locate any more people, either dead or alive, and hopes have plummeted.
Police said they are still seeking the owner of the building and the construction project manager for questioning as officials blamed the collapse on shoddy building material, technique and planning.
Ann Tibaijuka, the head of the Nairobi-based United Nations housing organisation Habitat, echoed the feelings of many Kenyans when she visited the site.
”Someone has to tell us what the hell was going on,” she told reporters. — Sapa-AFP