Baby Rescued 4 Days After Kenya Building Collapse

Bright spot after disaster that's killed nearly two dozen so far
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted May 3, 2016 8:57 AM CDT
Baby Rescued 4 Days After Kenya Building Collapse
A miracle amid all the mess.   (Twitter/Kenya Red Cross)

At least 23 people are reported dead after an unapproved building collapsed Friday in Nairobi, Kenya, per the Star, but the Kenya Red Cross offered a bit of hope early Tuesday. "Good news! A child aged about one and half years rescued alive at 0400 hours," the organization tweeted, adding in a press release that the baby had been found 80 hours after the collapse nestled in a bucket and wrapped in a blanket. Although the child, IDed as Dealeryn Saisi Wasike by the BBC (which also says she's only 6 months old), seemed dehydrated, there were no other immediate signs of injury, and she's now recuperating at a nearby hospital. The Red Cross' Twitter feed also indicates the baby has been reunited with her dad, though the group says it hasn't confirmed what happened to her mother, per Reuters.

Media reports differ, but estimates hover at around 140 rescued so far and almost 100 still missing after the six-story building slated for demolition in the Huruma district crumbled after heavy rains Friday. At least five people are due in court Tuesday to face manslaughter charges, including a city inspection official, a rep from the nation's construction agency, the building's engineer, and two brothers who own the site. The owners didn't have permission to rent the building out, and it was apparently never approved by the city. That last point doesn't appear to be an anomaly: Nairobi's deputy governor tells Nairobi News that up to 70% of residential buildings don't have formal approval from City Hall. Kenya's president surveyed the damage Saturday and demanded that other buildings in the area be examined for safety issues. (A building that blew up in NYC had failed a work inspection just an hour before the blast.)

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