At Least 6 Killed as Building Under Construction Collapses in Nairobi

At least six people have died after an eight-storey building under construction collapsed along Mombasa Road on the outskirts of Nairobi, weeks after a similar incident was reported in Eastleigh.

The Friday morning incident occurred near the Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) Terminus, with five people pulled alive from the rubble and taken for emergency medical care.

Nairobi County confirmed that six fatalities had been recorded, with three bodies recovered during initial rescue operations before three additional bodies were retrieved from the debris.

"Five (5) casualties have been pulled from the rubble alive and are receiving emergency medical care," Nairobi County stated in its first situation report on the incident.

The county's preliminary findings indicated that the top slab of the building caved in while construction workers were actively working at the site.

The exact number of workers who were inside the building when it collapsed was yet to be established, with emergency teams continuing to search the debris for anyone who might still be trapped.

The Nairobi City County Fire Team and Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) Team were deployed to the scene to coordinate rescue operations and assist those affected.

The county urged members of the public and motorists using Mombasa Road near the SGR Terminus to keep away from the immediate incident perimeter to allow emergency teams to conduct their operations.

Meanwhile, the Kenya Red Cross confirmed that three people had initially been rescued and taken to hospital, with its response team working alongside other emergency partners at the scene.

"Three people have been rescued and taken to hospital after a building under construction collapsed in Syokimau. Search and rescue operations are ongoing for one person reported missing," the organisation said in an earlier update.

The circumstances surrounding the collapse were still being established, while the number of people who may have been trapped inside the building remained unclear as search and rescue operations continued.

The Syokimau incident comes weeks after an 18-storey building collapsed along 9th Street in Nairobi's Eastleigh area on October 23, killing eight people and leaving four others rescued alive.