At least two people are feared to have lost their lives after a multi-storey building under construction collapsed on Friday, January 2, in the Shopping Centre area of Nairobi’s South C estate, causing panic among residents and passersby.
The National Disaster Management Unit confirmed receiving an alert about the incident at around 8am and immediately deployed a search and rescue team consisting of police and other emergency responders.
Thick dust and scattered debris filled the area, prompting nearby residents and business owners to flee in panic.
The Kenya Red Cross reported that a multi-agency response team was quickly dispatched to manage the crisis, carry out search and rescue operations, and secure the scene.
''The area has been cordoned off as the National Disaster Management Unit, Nairobi City County, the National Police Service, and the Kenya Red Cross continue search and rescue operations,'' Red Cross said in a statement.
At the time of publishing, rescue operations were underway to locate the two individuals trapped in the rubble. There were also concerns that a nearby building might collapse due to structural movements caused by the incident.
However, NMDU stated that rescue efforts were being carried out with caution and that the structural integrity of the adjacent building would only be assessed by the National Construction Authority (NCA) after teams reached the first and ground floors. Meanwhile, residents have been advised to remain alert as a precaution.
The incident comes less than a month after the NCA warned the public, especially residents in Nairobi’s Westlands area, to remain vigilant following the development of visible cracks in a 13-storey building along Peponi Road.
The authority stated that the high-rise building, still under construction, was at risk of collapse due to structural failures. In a statement on Wednesday, December 17, NCA confirmed that a quality assurance team had been sent to the site to conduct compliance checks.
Incidents of buildings under construction collapsing have been increasing, particularly in the Westlands area of Nairobi.
On July 31, last year, a wall collapsed at a construction site on 147 Rhapta Road, injuring several workers. Reports indicated that the site, allegedly managed by a Chinese firm, had multiple safety violations at the time of the incident.
Unconfirmed sources also revealed that the site lacked a signboard and visible safety compliance measures.
Earlier in February, one person passed away when a three-storey building under construction collapsed on Third Avenue in Parklands, Nairobi.
Witnesses said the building collapsed at around 5:20pm on February 11, after construction had ended and most workers had left. The deceased, who had stayed behind to monitor the CCTV, was found trapped and had succumbed when a friend returned to check on him.
