Nairobi building collapse: Several feared trapped after 16-storey structure crumbles; rescue operation underway

Rescue teams were searching for seven people feared trapped beneath the rubble after a 16-storey building under construction collapsed in Kenya’s capital on Friday, Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen said. Videos shared online captured the building collapsing dramatically, sending huge clouds of dust into the air in Eastleigh, a densely populated commercial and residential area of Nairobi.

The structure was reduced to a pile of rubble as search and rescue teams reached the scene. Accessing the site proved difficult because the collapsed building was wedged between other high-rise structures. "Eleven shops on the ground floor and in the basement were occupied at the time of the collapse. Seven people have been reported missing," interior minister Kipchumba Murkomen posted on X late on Friday. Murkomen said 66 of the 67 people working at the construction site had escaped unharmed, while one person sustained injuries.

Police earlier reported rescuing a woman from the rubble and said they could hear another person's voice beneath the debris. "The contractors and the engineers are supposed to ensure that the works are followed by professionals. But most are not," Bibiye Mahmoud, president of the Institution of Engineering Technology of Kenya, told news agency AFP at the scene. "This is why we are seeing these catastrophes. There is no accountability," she added.

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Watch the horrifying video here

Building safety standards under scrutiny

A report by Kenya's National Building Inspectorate found that 87 per cent of buildings audited across the country last year failed to meet required standards or did not have the necessary approvals. "Our concern is to save lives," Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja told reporters, adding: “This building has no occupation certificate, this has potentially cost lives.” An occupation certificate is an official document confirming that a building is safe and legally suitable for occupation.

John Ogallo, vice-president of the Institution of Engineers of Kenya, who was also present at the scene, said there had been indications of possible structural problems before the collapse. "People here are saying distresses were observed, like cracks," before it collapsed, he told reporters. If you build with the wrong materials, ‘it becomes a time bomb’, he added. Nairobi has been experiencing a rapid construction boom, with high-rise buildings increasingly appearing across the city. The trend is particularly visible in Eastleigh, which is known for its busy markets and its role as a hub for the Somali community.

Looting reported after collapse

Local media reported incidents of looting shortly after the building collapsed around lunchtime. AFP reported seeing police use tear gas to disperse crowds gathered near the site. A report by the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis recorded 86 building collapses in Nairobi between 2009 and 2019, with an estimated 200 fatalities.

Corruption has contributed to contractors cutting corners or bypassing construction regulations. In September 2022, five people were killed when a six-storey building collapsed in a town on the outskirts of Nairobi. Earlier, in April 2016, 49 people died when a six-floor apartment building collapsed in the northeastern part of the capital after days of heavy rain triggered floods and landslides.