Police in Jinja is investigating the incident in which a four storeyed building complex located on School lane off Ghokale road, in Jinja Municipality, collapsed at about 1730hrs on 15th January 2020. The building complex which was still under construction is estimated to have had close to 32 workers on site at the time of its collapse.12 people have been recovered from the debris and admitted at Jinja referral hospital. The rescue operation is still on-going with the hope of finding any more people who could still be trapped alive under the rubble and help them to access emergency treatment.
Four bodies have so far been retrieved and taken to Jinja hospital for post-mortem and hand over to relatives for burial. They have been identified as;
1.Isabirye Joseph 20 years, a casual laborer and a resident of Buhuma village in Butagaya subcounty.
2.Muhofa Denis 29years, a casual laborer resident of Walukuba East.
3.Sadi Balaba 18 years, a casual laborer and a resident of Kabowa village, Budondo subcounty.
4.Akiram Bosco 22years, a casual laborer and a resident of Kabowa vilage, Budondo sub county all in Jinja district.
The exact number of the people who are still missing has not yet been established. According to some survivors, some workers managed to escape from the collapsing building. The Police re-assures the public that rescue efforts will continue until the team is sure that there are no more people trapped under the rubble. We have intensified efforts to locate and question the the site engineer, as well as the site supervisor. The investigation is also analyzing critically the building materials used in this construction project to establish whether they are of standard quality not or if the construction itself was shoddily done. We have requested for a technical report from the municipal engineer as the investigation into this matter continues.
The Police condole with families that have lost their loved ones in this incident and wish those injured a speedy recovery. We also extend our gratitude to the joint rescue team in this operation and in particular, local leaders from Jinja Municipality who have supported this operation through sourcing for excavators and other necessary equipment.
ACP POLLY NAMAYE
DEPUTY PRESS & PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER
UPF
17/01/2020
