NAIROBI, Kenya – Rescuers found four survivors Thursday in the rubble of an apartment building that collapsed six days ago amid heavy rains in the Kenyan capital, raising hopes that more people might still be alive in a disaster that has left dozens dead and missing.
The first to be rescued was a pregnant woman, although her husband said that amid the joy of finding her alive, doctors also reported that their baby had not survived. In addition, one of those found alive later died en route to the hospital, officials said.
Soldiers, firefighters and volunteers have been working around the clock since the April 29 collapse of the seven-story building in a desperate search effort, and their spirits were lifted Tuesday when a nearly 6-month-old girl – dehydrated but relatively unscathed – was found in a wash basin.
Then on Thursday, they found 24-year-old Elizabeth Night Odhiambo, who was eight months pregnant, said her husband, Stephen Onyango. A crowd broke into applause as Odhiambo – under a blanket and with her face covered with an oxygen mask – was carried to an ambulance in a scene broadcast live on Kenyan TV.
Odhiambo was taken to Kenyatta National Hospital, where she underwent an emergency cesarean section, but doctors told Onyango the baby had not survived.
Despite that news, Onyango said he was joyful his wife was still alive.
“I cannot say the happiness I have,” the truck driver said.
Onyango said he was able to comfort his wife after the surgery.
Pius Masai, the head of the Disaster Management Unit, said that of the other three people rescued after Odhiambo, one died because the ambulance did not have advanced life-saving equipment. The conditions of the other two were not immediately known.
The disaster has killed 37 people and injured 134. About 70 people remain missing.
Before military engineers broke through slabs of concrete that had trapped Odhiambo in a corner of the building, medics had managed to give her oxygen and an intravenous drip of water and glucose, according to Kenya’s Disaster Management Unit.
Authorities initially used backhoes in the search, with firefighters and volunteers also removing chunks of debris by hand in the frantic rescue effort. A day after the collapse, the military brought in special equipment. President Uhuru Kenyatta visited the scene.
Trained dogs were brought in, along with special equipment to detect breathing and movement, said military spokesman Col. David Obonyo.
