Burial turns tragic as wall collapses, killing five mourners in Mombasa

Five people, including a pregnant woman, have been killed after a wall collapsed at KCC Miritini in Mombasa.

The five had attended a burial ceremony in the area and were queuing to view the body of the deceased when the disaster struck.

Mombasa County Executive Member for Transport, Dan Manyala, confirmed the incident and said the remaining part of the wall would be demolished.

"Three people died on the spot while two others died on the way to hospital. The woman was heavily pregnant, so essentially we lost six people in this tragedy," he said.

Mr Manyala explained that a heavy downpour lasting less than 10 minutes caused the wall to collapse, killing and injuring residents who had sought shelter from the rain near the wall.

A witness, Rashid Foya, who is also the area's boda boda chairman, said it took less than two minutes for the nine-metre-high wall to fall.

"The rain came with a strong wind that brought down the wall. There were many people taking cover near the wall and the wind was blowing from one direction," he said.

Mombasa experienced heavy rains on Saturday night and some areas experienced brief heavy downpours on Monday afternoon.

The county has pledged to support the families.