At least six people have been declared dead after an eight-storey building under construction collapsed along Mombasa Road, near the Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) Terminus in Kenya.
The incident occurred on Friday morning, leaving several construction workers feared trapped beneath the rubble as emergency responders continued search and rescue operations.
Nairobi County confirmed that six people had died, with three bodies recovered during the first rescue operation before three additional bodies were retrieved from the debris.
The county also disclosed that five people were rescued alive and taken to the hospital for emergency medical treatment.
“Five casualties have been pulled from the rubble alive and are receiving emergency medical care,” the county said in its initial situation report.
The county’s initial assessment indicated that the building’s top slab caved in while construction workers were on site.
However, authorities have not yet revealed the exact number of workers present when the structure collapsed.
The Nairobi City County Fire Team and Urban Search and Rescue Team were mobilised to the scene to coordinate rescue efforts and search for anyone still trapped beneath the debris.
Meanwhile, the Kenya Red Cross also confirmed its involvement in the operation, saying that three people had initially been rescued and taken to the hospital. One person was reported missing in its earlier update.
The county appealed to residents and motorists travelling along Mombasa Road, particularly around the SGR Terminus, to steer clear of the affected area to enable emergency teams to carry out their operations without obstruction.
The incident comes weeks after an 18-storey building collapsed in Nairobi’s Eastleigh area on October 23, killing eight people and leaving four others rescued alive.
