Survivor of Nairobi sewage collapse: ‘We were trapped in the dark’

Four people have been confirmed dead after a sewage pipe collapsed in Nairobi’s Shauri Moyo area.

Police spokesman Dr Resila Onyango said three others were rescued as the search continued for others trapped.

“Four bodies were recovered from under the ground, three of which were unidentified males and one was identified,” a police incident report said.

“The scene was processed … and the bodies were taken to the city morgue awaiting identification and autopsy.”

While police said the rescue operation was over, one survivor told the Nation that several of his colleagues could still be trapped under the ground.

James Musyoki told Nation.Africa that at around 1am, the ground caved in, trapping him and his colleagues. 

Mr Musyoki, who said he was being treated at Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital, blamed the contractor for failing to provide the necessary work equipment.

“We were using our torches when suddenly the unthinkable happened,” he recalled. 

The incident only came to light at dawn, an eyewitness said. 

In the early hours of the morning, curious onlookers flocked to the scene. As time went by, the youths became angry and blocked the road in the Majengo area.