UPDATE: NAIROBI BUILDING COLLAPSE

UNCLAS NAIROBI 000342 SIPDIS SIPDIS SAID FOR DCHA FOR WGARVELINK; USAID FOR DCHA/OFDA, GGOTTLIEB MMARTY, IMCNAIRN; USAID FOR AFR/EA, JBORNS; LONDON AND PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHERS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID MASS PREL AMGT ASEC KE SUBJECT: UPDATE: NAIROBI BUILDING COLLAPSE REF: A. NAIROBI 327 ¶B. NAIROBI 326 ¶1. SUMMARY: Rescue efforts at the scene of the collapsed multi-story building in central Nairobi continue, with 14 confirmed deaths, 107 injured, and an unknown number missing. While the government announced there is little hope of finding more survivors, and that the Israeli rescue team will conclude its mission January 26, Post continued to support the effort with personnel and equipment and plans to do so for at least another day. Amid allegations of impropriety in the construction approval process for the collapsed building, the government suspended four Nairobi City Council members pending investigation. END SUMMARY. MORE DEATHS, SURVIVORS UNLIKELY -------------- ¶2. Confirming the number of deaths, Kenyan Government Spokesman Alfred Mutua acknowledged that, as of mid-day January 25, there was scarce hope of finding more survivors, although approximately 48 hours after the building collapsed, the government has not redesignated the rescue mission as a recovery effort. With the number of injured and rescued reported at 107, 39 of whom remain in the hospital, the number of missing remained unclear. The last reported survivor to be removed from the debris was during the day on January 24. Mutua noted that voices of survivors heard on January 24 morning had faded. Reports praised the Israeli military search and rescue team's ability to establish control over the site upon their arrival on January 24. This was in contrast to criticism of the Kenyan emergency response, which a Nation editorial decried as "shameful," adding that needless deaths may have occurred because the official reaction was neither prompt nor efficient. Visiting the site on January 24, President Kibaki pledged to procure a supply of rescue equipment for the country. ISRAELI-LED MISSION RUNNING SMOOTHLY -------------- ¶3. Post continued to provide support to the Israeli-led rescue effort, although the government of Kenya did not make any further specific requests for assistance. With mission members on-site overnight, the United States facilitated round-the-clock work through the use of Post generators and lights. In addition, U.S. Navy Seabees are working with Kenyan and Israeli personnel removing rubble. Along with the equipment and supplies already delivered (Ref A),Post provided 20 oxygen tanks to Kenyatta Hospital on January 25. Post obtained USD 15,000 in funding from USAID's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA). ¶4. Interagency and international, Post's disaster response was widely acknowledged in the Kenyan media and by officials during the Ambassador's January 25 visit to the disaster site. The Ambassador will return to the location for a remembrance ceremony January 26, which will also mark the beginning of the phase-out of the Israeli search and rescue mission. In addition to the 16 U.S. Seabees, Post will keep staff-members on-site, working closely with Kenyan, Israeli, and British teams, at least until January noon 26. GOVERNMENT VOWS TO CRACK DOWN -------------- ¶5. Following reports that there had earlier been warnings, including articles in the press weeks ago, that the building was likely to collapse from shoddy construction, Local Government Minister Musikari Kombo announced January 24 that he had suspended four members of the Nairobi City Council. He ordered an investigation into alleged impropriety in the authorization of the collapsed building's construction. Kombo added that he would initiate legislation to regulate building and ensure the structural integrity of future construction. ¶6. In his January 25 statement, Spokesman Mutua announced the establishment of an interministerial team to investigate other buildings in the city that may also be vulnerable. Mutua also noted that although the entire structure had not folded on January 23, the remaining portion would be demolished, at the owner's expense, as would the building under construction next door. He was earlier quoted as having confirmed that inadequate building materials and poor construction technique caused the disastrous accident. BELLAMY