Rescue operations are still underway at the site of the Eastleigh building collapse, where an 18-storey building came crashing down. Families of 16 people who are still missing are holding onto hope that their loved ones will be found alive. Among them is Jude Rose Wanjiru, who has been camping at the scene daily, hoping for news of her 22-year-old daughter Aurelia Wanjiku.
The family of Aurelia Wanjiku received a boost in their hopes of finding her alive when her phone, which had been unreachable for eight days, suddenly became active on Saturday morning. When they called her line, the call was answered, but the person on the other end did not speak, raising hopes that she could still be alive but trapped beneath the rubble.
According to the family, they could hear noise in Aurelia's surroundings, including what they described as the sound of excavators, when they made the call. This was despite the fact that the sound was far away from the scene where the rescue operation was in progress. The family used Aurelia's second phone number to reach out to her, as her other line was not functioning.
Jude Rose Wanjiru, Aurelia's mother, expressed her anguish and trauma over the last nine days while still clinging to hope of a joyful reunion with her daughter. She revealed that when a dismembered body of a woman was recovered from the rubble, the family went to confirm that the body was not that of their missing kin.
The families of the missing persons are frustrated with the slow pace of the rescue operation, noting that eight days since the collapse of the building, the hope of rescuing survivors is dwindling with each passing day. They conveyed their wishes for a speedy operation, urging the government to deploy all resources at its disposal to ensure a quick conclusion.
Some of the families critiqued the country's disaster response systems, lamenting that carefully removing rubble from a single building shouldn’t have taken more than eight days in a country with functioning systems. However, rescue teams at the scene exuded confidence that the rubble could be cleared on Sunday, stating that 90 percent of the work has been done.
The rescue operation, which is now in its ninth day, has seen the deployment of various personnel and equipment to the scene. While appreciating the rescue efforts and sacrifices made by personnel at the scene, families expressed their desire for a speedy conclusion to the operation, which would bring closure to the ordeal they have endured.
Key points
- The phone of a missing woman, Aurelia Wanjiku, became reachable 8 days after the Eastleigh building collapse.
- The family of Aurelia Wanjiku heard noise in her surroundings, including the sound of excavators, when they called her phone.
- The rescue operation, now in its ninth day, is nearing completion, with 90 percent of the work done.
