9 Dead After Crane Crashes At New Qwetu Hostel Construction Site In Hurlingham

At least 9 people were confirmed dead Thursday after a crane collapsed at a construction site in Nairobi’s Hurlingham area.

Police said among the dead were seven Kenyans and two Chinese.

“We have lost 9 people,” said Andrew Mbogo, Kilimani police chief, “they include two Chinese and six Kenyans.”

People are seen outside the construction site in Hurlingham, Nairobi.

The 14-storey building that was almost complete is a hostel run by Qwetu near Daystar University.

A witness Michael Odhiambo said the crane was being dismantled when it came down.

“Some people were up on the crane dismantling it when it crashed,” Odhiambo said, “it is like they did not balance the weight well and it is unfortunate because eight people are now dead and two have been taken to hospital.

The Chinese construction company involved, ZJCC later issued a statement confirming the deaths.

“We are working together with all other relevant agencies to establish the facts that led to the accident,” it said in a statement, “preliminary details established that while decommissioning our tower crane, part of unfortunately collapsed killing nine technicians.”