President Samia Hassan urges for patience as rescue efforts enter third day

The exercise to retrieve bodies and rescue those injured and trapped in a collapsed building in Dar es Salaam central business district (CBD)--Kariakoo--will extend beyond Monday.

The building collapsed killing 13 people and leaving several others injured.

President Samia Suluhu Hassan in a statement released on Monday stated that 84 people were nursing wounds in different hospitals while 13 people died on the spot.

“The government will cover for the hospital bills,” read part of the press release.

The head of state ordered for an immediate audit of all buildings in Dar es Salaam especially at Kariakoo, which is the main business hub for traders and urged security agencies to obtain the ownership and construction permits for the collapsed building.

Initially, President Samia Hassan stated that no technical reasons for the collapse of
the building had been determined so far as rescue efforts were prioritized first.

She urged for vigilance.

Tanzania Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa said on Monday that humanitarian assistance was going on well.

He said the government put more efforts at ensuring that, not even a single person or body remains unsaved.

Majaliwa said this during a farewell function to bid the 13 dead persons to their various areas of burials.

The four-storey building which accommodates dozens of businesses collapsed on Saturday morning.

The incident caused a stir amongst political,religious leaders, engineers and other stakeholders questioning on how the building was set and the company in charge pf construction.

Meanwhile,the number of people trapped was unclear as several individuals said they had lost contacts of their relatives whom they believe were inside the building.