A man in Tanzania’s biggest city, Dar es Salaam, has told the BBC he is waiting to hear news of his mother, who remains trapped two days after a building collapsed.
Rescuers have so far pulled 86 people from the rubble alive but 16 are known to have died, Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa said.
Emmanuel Mallya told the BBC his mother was working in the building when it fell down on Saturday morning.
“She called me and later told me that she was attending to customers. Two hours later, I was informed that the building had collapsed,” he said.
“The rescue team told us they are in touch with her and other people there.
“Looking at the efforts being done, we have hope that she will come up alive, we do leave that to God.”
Mr Mallya is among a number of people waiting to hear from loved ones trapped by the collapsed building, which is located in the busy Kariakoo market area. However, it is not clear how many people remain trapped
Rescuers have been sending supplies of water, glucose and oxygen to those trapped through small gaps in the debris.
Prime Minister Majaliwa said once the mission to retrieve everyone from the rubble is complete, an investigation into the cause of the collapse will be launched. The authorities have been pursuing the building’s owner for information about the incident.
Mr Majaliwa was speaking at a ceremony in Dar es Salaam’s Mnazi Mmoja grounds, where thousands of mourners gathered to pay their respects and collect the bodies of their loved ones for burial.
The prime minister said that of those rescued alive, five remained in hospital under observation.
“The rescue activities will continue day and night until we get the last person saved,” he said.
After the building first gave way at about 09:00 local time (06:00 GMT) on Saturday morning, hundreds of first responders used sledgehammers and their bare hands to pull away the debris, the AFP news agency reported.
Cranes and other heavy machinery were later brought in to help.
Fortunately, the building came down before the market area had become too busy.
A team of 19 people has been formed to inspect buildings across the city. The group will assess structural integrity and recommend safety measures in an effort to prevent future tragedies.
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[Getty Images/BBC]
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