Seven children killed, scores injured after Kenyan school building collapses

Hundreds of angry residents of poor suburb in Nairobi swarm around site

Seven children died and scores were injured early Monday when a school building collapsed in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, a government spokesman said, in an accident blamed on shoddy construction.

"So far we can confirm that we have seven fatalities and 57 others are in hospital," government spokesman Cyrus Oguna said at the scene.

Hundreds of angry residents of Dagoretti, a poor suburb where many live in makeshift homes, swarmed around the site where rescuers picked through the rubble.

"Seven pupils dead, several injured after a classroom collapsed at [the Precious] Talent Academy in Dagoretti," St John Ambulance, whose teams were deployed in search and rescue, wrote on Twitter.

An AFP reporter at the site said books and desks were strewn through the debris of the two-story building, a semi-permanent structure made of concrete, iron sheeting and timber. 

"I had just dropped my son to school, and heard screams on my way back, and that is when I found people assisting them out to hospital," said Margaret Muthoni at Kenyatta National Hospital, whose four-year-old son was injured.

"I am just lucky my son survived with injuries. It is a very unfortunate incident because some children have died," said Muthoni. Kepha Otieno said he lost his five-year-old daughter to the tragedy. "I just can't believe. It is too hard for me and the family," he said.