Rescuers find seven-month-old girl in bucket wrapped in a blanket after disaster in which 23 people died

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Kenyan rescuers have pulled a seven-month-old girl alive from the rubble of a six-storey building in Nairobi, four days after the block collapsed during heavy rains, killing at least 23 people.



Two brothers who own the building have been remanded in police custody but not charged, as rescue efforts continue with close to 100 still missing.

The baby’s father described the recovery of his daughter, Delarine Saisi, as a “miracle”.

“I thank God for all that he has done to get my daughter alive after all those days in the rubble,” said Ralsan Wasike, adding that he did not know the whereabouts of the girl’s mother. “I pray she is alive,” he said.

The Kenya Red Cross said Delarine was found at 4am local time (0100 GMT) “in a bucket wrapped in a blanket”. She was dehydrated but had no visible physical injuries. The Red Cross initially said the baby was a year and a half old, but her father later said she was less than half that age.

Delarine was rescued 80 hours after the building collapsed on Friday night during torrential rains that hit the Kenyan capital last week. The building was home to about 150 families crammed into single rooms.

Police said the death toll from the tragedy rose to 23 on Tuesday after two more bodies were found.

Located in the poor, tightly packed Huruma neighbourhood, the building had been slated for demolition after being declared structurally unsound. But an evacuation order for the structure, which was built near a river just two years ago, was ignored.

Five people – the two brothers who own the building, and three construction officials – were remanded in custody for 21 days on Tuesday to allow prosecutors to gather evidence and file charges.

Several buildings have collapsed in recent years in Nairobi and other Kenyan cities, where a property boom has led to buildings being put up at speed, often with scant regard for building regulations.

Including the deaths in Huruma, at least 30 people have died in Nairobi since the weekend in accidents linked to flooding.