A man from Tanzania's biggest city, Dar es Salaam, told the BBC that he is waiting to hear from his mother, who has been trapped for two days in a building collapse.
Rescuers have so far pulled 86 people out of the rubble alive but 16 are known to have died, said Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa.
Emmanuel told the BBC that his mother was working on the building when it collapsed on Saturday morning.
“He called me and told me that he was going to visit customers, two hours later I was told that the building had collapsed,” he said.
“The rescue team told us that they are in contact with him and other people there.
“If we look at the efforts being made, we hope that he will come out alive, we leave that to God.”
Emmanuel is among dozens of people waiting to hear from their loved ones trapped in a dilapidated building, located in the busy Kariakoo market. However, it is not clear how many people are still trapped
Rescuers were sending water, glucose and oxygen to those trapped through small gaps in the debris.
Prime Minister Majaliwa said that once the work of removing everyone from the rubble has been completed, an investigation into the cause of the collapse will begin. Authorities have been following the building's owner for information about the incident.
Mr. Majaliwa was speaking at a ceremony held at Mnazi Mmoja in Dar es Salaam, where thousands of people gathered to pay their respects and collect the bodies of their loved ones for burial.
The Prime Minister said that of those who were rescued alive, five are still hospitalized under observation.
“Rescue operations will continue day and night until we save the last person,” he said.
After the building was vacated around 09:00 local time (06:00 GMT) on Saturday morning, hundreds of first responders used hammers and hands to pull away the debris, AFP news agency reported.
Cranes and other heavy equipment were later brought in to help.
Fortunately, this building came down before the market place got too busy.
A team of 19 people has been established to inspect buildings throughout the city. The team will assess the integrity of the building and recommend safety measures in an effort to prevent future disasters.
Source link
