- Title: UGANDA: Uganda church collapse kills at least 21.
- Date: 9th March 2006
- Summary: YOUNG PATIENT IN BLOODSTAINED BED
- Embargoed: 24th March 2006 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Uganda
- Country: Uganda
- Topics: Disasters / Accidents / Natural catastrophes
- Reuters ID: LVAN3Y0BO1IJFCRGTRCFLNJ1X07
- Story Text: The full extent of the Kampala church roof collapse that killed at
least 21 people became clear with daylight on Thursday (March 9) as police
cordoned off the wreckage of the brick-built building.
Ugandan authorities said they suspected illegal construction was to
blame for the
collapse of a church roof in a heavy thunderstorm, the third and worst such
disaster since 2002.
More than 200 born-again Christians were attending a busy prayer
service at the City of the Lord church in a suburb of the capital Kampala on
Wednesday when torrential rain struck at about 7 p.m. (1600 GMT).
Police struggled to hold back hundreds of residents who crowded the
muddy, flooded area on Wednesday night as rescuers fought to free the victims.
Nearly 100 people were badly hurt and rushed to hospitals.
Rescuers said the number inside the unfinished building had been
swollen by people seeking shelter from the downpour.
Security officials collected belongings and kept curious Ugandans away
from the scene as government officials were awaited to investigate the cause
of the collapse.
Ugandans say corrupt local officials often take bribes to overlook
sub-standard construction, and accidents are common. But the death toll
shocked many.
Survivors at the scene on Thursday morning said the part of the problem
was the noise from the downpour and also from the worshippers inside the
church.
"People inside were closing their eyes, people outside were saying
the building... were warning, the power had come back and people were praying
and the voices were up, so no one could hear what was going on outside."
said Annet Kwagala who survived the collapse.
Other survivors said the church start to collapse and they still have
no idea how they survived from the Wednesday night incident.
"One of the colleagues I work with here told me, "my it looks
like this thing is shaking," I was seated, I then stood up, when I stood
up, I looked outside like this.. I saw the part of the wall coming down, I
covered my head and screamed as people were dying." said Ezra Kezaala as
she looked on at the scene.
Four people were killed in 2002 when a church collapsed in Makindye,
another suburb of the capital. A year later, two people died when another
Kampala church collapsed.
At least two-thirds of Uganda's 27 million people are Christians. A
growing number attend evangelical churches that have sprung up across the east
African country.
jrc/ - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2014. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None