The building on Luwum Street that collapsedTWO people died and at least five others sustained severe injuries when a building under construction on Luwum Street in Kampala city centre collapsed yesterday mid-morning.
The storied commercial structure caved in just before midday. An excavation near an adjacent wall belonging to Universal House forced the foundation to give way.
The building, located on Plot 3, is owned by city businessman MM Young.
The chief of the Police fire brigade, Andrew Acaye, identified one of the dead as Martin Osele, a porter who was working at the site.
The second person, whose identity is yet to be established, died on his way to Nsambya Hospital.
Three other victims with multiple injuries were whisked in a Police patrol vehicle to Mulago Hospital where they were admitted. Two others were treated for minor injuries by the Uganda Red Cross team at the scene.
“We have ascertained that no more bodies are trapped under the rubble. But we are keeping a close watch,” said Acaye.
Moses Musoke, a porter who survived, said Osele was digging a tunnel near the foundation wall that caved in.
He said Osele started work two days ago and was earning sh6,000 per day as a porter. At the scene, shaken workers looked on in disbelief as the Police searched in the rubble for any survivors.
The driver of the excavator, hired from the BMK Group, took off as soon as the wall caved in. The Police are hunting for him.
According to survivors, the construction, which started two months ago, was being carried out by Kasai Construction Company. The engineers and the foreman at the site vanished when the wall collapsed.
Commenting on the incident, disaster preparedness state minister Musa Ecweru said fake engineers are to blame for the collapse of buidings.
President Yoweri Museveni last year warned that officials who approve sub-standard buildings will be sentenced to death.
“We shall have to hang some of these individuals. They can’t go on approving hopeless buildings. That is murder,” Museveni told reporters.
The storied commercial structure caved in just before midday. An excavation near an adjacent wall belonging to Universal House forced the foundation to give way.
The building, located on Plot 3, is owned by city businessman MM Young.
The chief of the Police fire brigade, Andrew Acaye, identified one of the dead as Martin Osele, a porter who was working at the site.
The second person, whose identity is yet to be established, died on his way to Nsambya Hospital.
Three other victims with multiple injuries were whisked in a Police patrol vehicle to Mulago Hospital where they were admitted. Two others were treated for minor injuries by the Uganda Red Cross team at the scene.
“We have ascertained that no more bodies are trapped under the rubble. But we are keeping a close watch,” said Acaye.
Moses Musoke, a porter who survived, said Osele was digging a tunnel near the foundation wall that caved in.
He said Osele started work two days ago and was earning sh6,000 per day as a porter. At the scene, shaken workers looked on in disbelief as the Police searched in the rubble for any survivors.
The driver of the excavator, hired from the BMK Group, took off as soon as the wall caved in. The Police are hunting for him.
According to survivors, the construction, which started two months ago, was being carried out by Kasai Construction Company. The engineers and the foreman at the site vanished when the wall collapsed.
Commenting on the incident, disaster preparedness state minister Musa Ecweru said fake engineers are to blame for the collapse of buidings.
President Yoweri Museveni last year warned that officials who approve sub-standard buildings will be sentenced to death.
“We shall have to hang some of these individuals. They can’t go on approving hopeless buildings. That is murder,” Museveni told reporters.
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