内罗毕——周五，肯尼亚首都一栋在建多层建筑倒塌，许多人被困废墟中，引发了对危险建筑作业的指责。
Nairobi – A multi-storey building collapsed mid-construction in the Kenyan capital on Friday, with many feared trapped in the rubble and accusations of dangerous building work.
网上流传的视频显示，这栋据信约有18层高的建筑在人口稠密的商住区伊斯特利倒塌，现场剧烈坍塌，尘土飞扬。
Videos shared online showed a dramatic crash and huge clouds of dust as the building – thought to have been around 18 storeys high – came down in the densely populated business and residential area of Eastleigh.
随着搜救队抵达现场，大楼已化为一堆废墟，但因现场夹在其他高楼之间，救援人员难以进入施救。警方表示，已从废墟中救出一名女子，并能听到另一人的声音。
The building was reduced to a pile of rubble as search and rescue teams arrived on the scene, but struggled to start accessing the site which was jammed between other high-rise buildings. Police said they had already rescued one woman from the rubble, and could hear the voice of another.
“这里有很多人被困，”肯尼亚工程技术学会主席比比耶·马哈茂德在灾难现场对法新社记者表示。
"There are lots of people trapped here," Bibiye Mahmoud, president of the Institution of Engineering Technology of Kenya, told AFP at the site of the disaster.
“承包商和工程师本应确保工程由专业人员跟进监管。但大多数并未如此。这就是我们看到这些灾难的原因……没有任何问责，”她补充道。
"The contractors and the engineers are supposed to ensure that the works are followed by professionals. But most are not. This is why we are seeing these catastrophes...
肯尼亚国家建筑监察局报告发现，去年全国接受审计的建筑中，有87%未达标或缺乏必要批准。
There is no accountability," she added. Kenya's National Building Inspectorate report found that 87 percent of buildings audited nationwide last year failed to meet standards or lacked the required approvals.
“我们的关注点是挽救生命，”内罗毕郡长约翰逊·萨卡贾对记者表示，并补充道：“这栋楼没有入住证……这可能已经酿成悲剧。”入住证本质上是主管部门对建筑安全且合法适合居住的正式认可。
"Our concern is to save lives," Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja told reporters, adding: "This building has no occupation certificate...this has potentially cost lives." An occupation certificate is essentially the authority's formal sign-off that a building is safe and legally fit to be occupied.
同样在现场的肯尼亚工程师学会副主席约翰·奥加洛表示，该建筑此前已出现预警信号。他在倒塌前告诉记者：“当地人说观察到了险情，比如裂缝。”
John Ogallo, vice-president of the Institution of Engineers of Kenya, who was also at the site, said there were warning signs about the building. "People here are saying distresses were observed, like cracks," before it collapsed, he told reporters.
他补充道：“如果使用错误的材料建造，‘它就成了一颗定时炸弹’。”
If you build with the wrong materials, "it becomes a time bomb," he added.
内罗毕正经历一场快速的建设热潮，高层建筑在全城拔地而起，尤其是在以繁忙市场和索马里裔社区聚集地著称的伊斯特利区。
Nairobi is undergoing a rapid construction boom, with high-rise buildings appearing all over the city, particularly in Eastleigh which is known for its busy market areas and as a hub for the Somali community.
当地媒体报道，倒塌发生在午餐时间前后，随后立即出现抢劫掠夺行为。法新社记者看到警方发射催泪瓦斯，驱散聚集在现场附近的人群。多年来，安全隐患一直备受关注。
Local media reported looting immediately after the collapse, which happened around lunchtime. AFP saw police use tear gas to disperse crowds gathering near the site. There have been many concerns over safety over the years.
据肯尼亚公共政策研究与分析院的一份报告，2009年至2019年间，内罗毕共发生86起建筑倒塌事故，造成约200人死亡。
There were 86 building collapses between 2009 and 2019 in Nairobi, killing an estimated 200 people, according to a report by the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis.
据其统计局数据，内罗毕每年竣工的建筑数量已从2022年的20,025栋增至去年的25,090栋，作为东非主要商业枢纽，该市吸引了来自农村地区和邻国的人口涌入。腐败使得承包商能够偷工减料或规避法规。
The number of buildings completed annually in Nairobi has risen from 20,025 in 2022 to 25,090 last year, according to its statistics bureau, as east Africa's leading business hub sucks in people from rural areas and neighbouring countries. Corruption has allowed contractors to cut corners or bypass regulations.
2022年9月，内罗毕郊区的一个城镇发生一栋六层楼房倒塌，造成5人死亡。
Five people were killed when a six-storey building collapsed in a town on the outskirts of Nairobi in September 2022.
2016年4月，连日暴雨引发洪水和山体滑坡后，首都东北部一栋六层公寓楼倒塌，造成49人死亡。
In April 2016, 49 people were killed when a six-floor apartment building crumbled in the northeast of the capital after days of heavy rain caused floods and landslides.