Kenyan collapse
Rescuers evacuate a woman from the rubble of a six-storey building that collapsed after days of heavy rain, in Nairobi, Kenya on May 5 REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya

Four people have miraculously been found alive after being pulled from the rubble of a residential building in Nairobi, Kenya, six days after it collapsed in floods. Rescue workers have been battling against the clock to find survivors within the debris of the six-storey building in Nairobi's Huruma district.

On Thursday 5 May, a young woman who was eight months pregnant was first to be pulled from the ruins. In the hours that followed, three other people were brought out and taken to hospital. After smashing through slabs of concrete to reach Elizabeth Night Odhiambo, 24, she was placed on oxygen.

However, after an emergency Caesarean, it was discovered that her baby had already died in the womb. Another middle-aged man and two women on stretchers followed.

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The head of Kenya's National Disaster Management Unit, Pius Masai, said according to the BBC it was a "miracle" to have found survivors after so long. Soldiers, firefighters and volunteers have all been searching for survivors with specially-trained rescue dogs also at hand.

On Tuesday 3 May, a seven-month-old child was pulled alive from the remains of the building but her mother was found dead the next day. According to reports from the Kenyan capital the building's owners have been released on bail after being arrested on Monday.

There are 36 confirmed dead and 70 people missing while 136 were saved from the building but dozens are still missing and emergency services believe the chance of finding any more survivors amongst the ruins is becoming less likely.

The 198-room building had been previously condemned by authorities and there has been no official explanation of why it remained occupied. Kenya's Interior Ministry even said that the building had been earmarked for demolition as it was built too close to the river.

The country is suffering from heavy rains leading to floods in the city risking vulnerable buildings, some of which were built without planning permission. A series of collapses in the country in the past year prompted President Uhuru Kenyatta to order an extensive property audit.

Kenya