Building collapse in Kenya, at least 12 killed

Hours after a residential building collapsed in a heap of rubble in Kenya's capital, a man emerged, triumphant, holding up a baby wrapped in a pink blanket as the crowd of rescuers and onlookers cheered.

Another man followed him, carrying a toddler who had also been pulled from the debris. Both of the children were rushed to ambulances to get medical care.

As the hours passed following Friday's collapse of the secven-story building in Nairobi, rescuers continued to hear sounds of hope: Voices of some trapped survivors called out from beneath the debris, terrified but alive. Workers yanked chunks of concrete from where the building once stood, the cries spurring their efforts.

At least 12 people were killed, the Kenyan Red Cross said, and another 134 were injured. But others are feared trapped in the rubble of the building in Huruma, a residential area in northeast Nairobi -- the aid organization said more than 60 people have been reported missing.

The building housed about 164 one-room apartments, but it's not clear how many were occupied at the time of the collapse, Red Cross spokesman Abbas Gullet told CNN affiliate KTN.

Structure had been condemned

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta visited the scene Saturday morning. He asked the country's disaster authorities to survey other houses in the area, determine if any were likely to collapse and to move residents out, according to a statement from the National Police Service of Kenya.

He also ordered that the owners of any unstable structures be arrested, after it was revealed that the building that collapsed had previously been condemned by the National Construction Authority, the police statement said.

Shoes, pots, photo albums

"Don't cry, we're coming!" one man was heard yelling in Swahili, in video from the scene. "Let's move faster," one person implored others involved in the rescue effort.

Household items lay scattered as residents prayed and wept. Others carried debris using their bare hands.

"It's heartbreaking ... amongst the rubble you've got mattresses strewn around, children's shoes, pots and pans, photo albums," said Arnolda Shiundu, a spokeswoman for the Red Cross.

"Every time we move some rubble and we hear voices," she said, "it gives the multiagencies that are here the morale to keep on fighting so that we can get as many people -- as many survivors as possible."

Kenya's defense forces have taken control of the scene with help from the Kenya Police and various medical agencies, such as the Red Cross, Shiundu said.

Heavy rains

The building collapsed during heavy rains. It's unclear what caused it to fail, but residents told the Red Cross the bottom floors caved in first.

Kenya Police spokesman Charles Owino said it was too early to give definitive answers, but he expected preliminary information soon.

All the floors were occupied, he said.

"It's not a new building; it's an old building, so hopefully the planning department is able to tell us," he said.

"We don't how how much the heavy rains could have caused the building to fall. There could be other technical reasons."