DAR ES SALAAM: The death toll from a building which collapsed in Tanzania’s economic capital Dar es Salaam reached 25 yesterday, officials said as hope faded of finding those missing two days after the accident.
“Six bodies were found between Saturday night and this (Sunday) afternoon. This brings the total number confirmed dead to 25,” Dar es Salaam Regional Commissioner Saidi Mecky Sadicky said, updating an earlier toll of 19.
“The rescue exercise is still going on slowly. It is complicated and there is rain, but they will continue working there until every point is sifted,” he added.
Several dozen people are still missing around the site, which was littered with huge chunks of concrete, and Sadicky said earlier there was “little hope to find anyone alive”.
It has been more than 48 hours since the last of 18 survivors were pulled from the remains of the 16-storey building.
Hundreds of rescuers have worked non-stop in search of those believed to be still trapped in the rubble from the shell of the tower, which was being built near a mosque in the Kisutu area of the coastal city.
Sadicky said between 60 and 70 people were reported to have been at or near the construction site Friday morning when the building collapsed, meaning that between 17 and 27 people could still be trapped.
Hundreds of people, including residents and army rescuers, clawed through piles of rubble in the hunt for survivors, alongside earthmovers and excavators.
AFP
