Construction Workers Injured in Wall Collapse

Seven construction workers were injured after a 10 meter high wall they were building collapsed in Mandera town, North Eastern Kenya, on Thursday evening.

According to one of the workers, Kenneth Wanzala, the incident occurred due to intense pressure from the construction manager to build a partitioning wall in a warehouse within one day.  "We started working at 6 am and without allowing time to dry up, the manager forced us to continue building until it came down with us," he said.

Another worker indicated that they were using a weakly erected ladder at the site.

The site manager, Abdirashid Mire, denied claims that he was in a hurry and wanted the wall completed in a day.

"The constructors were allowed time to work on the wall without any interference and what happened is an accident," he said.

He said already the warehouse ownership had intervened and paid hospital bills for the seven victims and was willing to settle any other matter.

Five of the workers are currently receiving treatment at a private health faciltity in the town. Issack Maalim, a medical officer in charge of the facility confirmed that most of the workers had minor cuts and soft tissue injuries with four admitted in a stable condition.

Source: Daily Nation