At least 15 people have been killed in Tanzania's commercial capital, Dar es Salaam, when a building under construction collapsed, a police officer has said.
Witnesses at the site, where some people were using their hands to pull away fallen masonry, said on Friday the building fell near where children had been playing, and many might be still trapped.
"Fifteen bodies have been recovered from the rubble," Suleiman Kova, Dar es Salaam Police Commander, told reporters at the site.
"So far, only two people have been rescued alive, but the rescue operation is still ongoing."
The building of 12 or more storeys fell in the Kariakoo district of the city, where a buoyant economy has fuelled a construction boom.
Kariakoo in particular has been in the focus for building, and the speed of construction has raised concerns over standards.
Witnesses said dozens of construction workers were in the building when it fell. Others said boys had been playing football in a mosque playground next to the building.
"There are several people trapped inside the building," said Hamisi Mgosi, a trader in Kariakoo.
"A boy called his father through his cellphone from inside the collapsed building and told him he can't breathe." Senior government officials also gathered at the scene.
The building belonged to the state-run National Housing Corporation in partnership with a private investor.
Mr. Kova told journalists who rushed to the scene that investigation started immediately to establish the cause of the disaster which, apparently, was not unprecedented in this commercial capital of Tanzania that is witnessing a mushrooming of tall sky scrapers.
In recent times, some structures have crumbled while under construction and blame has, in many cases, been on poor engineering.
Friday 29 March 2013
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2013/03/201332911935186458.html
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