Seven Missing After Building Under Construction Collapses in Nairobi's Eastleigh

A building under construction collapsed in the Eastleigh neighbourhood of Nairobi on Friday afternoon, burying the occupied ground floor of a busy commercial block and starting a search for people trapped under the rubble. Reuters reported rescuers on the scene within hours, an excavator moving debris as a crowd gathered. The Nairobi County governor's office said the ground floor was occupied and that there were reports people may be trapped beneath the rubble. The cause of the collapse was not immediately clear.

Seven people reported missing

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen visited the site on Friday evening and said all 67 construction workers who had been on site were accounted for. "66 escaped unhurt, and one of them, who was a bit injured, is in hospital and recuperating well," he said. Murkomen said 11 shops on the ground floor and in the basement were occupied when the building came down, and seven people connected to those premises have been reported missing.

He said the rescue teams had reached some of the people still trapped. "It is reported that they have made contact with some of the survivors who are still trapped inside," Murkomen said. "Every effort is being expended to make sure that they are rescued alive."

The Kenya Red Cross said its Nairobi team was dispatched to the scene, on 9th Street near Yusuf Haji Avenue, and set up a tracing desk for families. In its updates, the Red Cross said 26 people who had earlier been reported missing had been traced and accounted for, and two injured people had been taken to Kenyatta National Hospital. Families looking for relatives can reach the Red Cross on its toll free number, 1199. The different figures reflect separate updates issued during the operation, and officials said the count was still being verified.

A difficult rescue on a crowded street

The Associated Press reported that the building, which had more than 10 upper floors under construction, came down early on Friday afternoon along a commercial street that is often crowded with traders and residents. Nairobi police chief Issa Mohamud said rescue work was complicated by crowds at the scene, and police fired tear gas at people looting neighbouring shops so that emergency teams could get through.

Joseph Kaula, a plasterer who had been working on the fifth floor, told AP he heard screams and saw workers rushing outside. "I was the last person to walk out before it collapsed and the whole area was filled with dust," he said.

Governor Johnson Sakaja said rescuers had heard people communicating from inside the rubble, and one woman was pulled out alive. He said the building had county approval but did not have an occupation certificate, and he said it did not comply with construction guidelines. Sakaja vowed legal action against the owner. Mohamud announced criminal investigations into the collapse.

Second Nairobi collapse in a week

The Eastleigh collapse came less than a week after a building on Moi Avenue in the city centre collapsed on October 17 during a planned demolition. Together, the two incidents have renewed questions about how building standards are enforced in Nairobi. Officials said investigators would examine the Eastleigh site once the rescue phase allows, and that anyone found responsible would be held accountable.