City building collapses, traps workers

Desperate efforts are currently underway to save the lives of an unidentified number of people who are trapped under the rubble of a Kigali building which caved in today at around midday local time.

Tuesday, April 03, 2012
On lookers and survivors trying to save the lives of people who are trapped under the rubble of a Kigali building which caved in today, afternoon. The New Times/Courtesy photo.

Desperate efforts are currently underway to save the lives of an unidentified number of people who are trapped under the rubble of a Kigali building which caved in today at around midday local time.Eyewitnesses who spoke to The New Times said the building, known as Petit Meridien, which is located just opposite the Umubano Hotel in Kacyiru and has been undergoing renovation, collapsed with some workers were inside. Nagib Rubega, one of the eyewitnesses who spoke to this newspaper, said he saw about three people under the debris.The New Times reporter at the scene, Frank Kanyesigye, said one person had been rescued by 1:10p.m, and immediately rushed to the nearby King Faisal Hospital. Unformed reports say between eight to ten people were suspected to have been trapped inside.Police was not immediately available for comment.