Six people have died after an eight-storey building under construction collapsed along Mombasa Road, near the Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) Terminus, trapping construction workers beneath the debris. The incident occurred at approximately 9:52 am on Friday, November 13, while workers were reportedly carrying out construction activities at the site.
A preliminary report by the Nairobi City County emergency and rescue team indicated that the building’s top slab gave way, triggering the collapse of part of the structure and burying workers under the rubble. Five people have been rescued alive and taken to hospital for emergency medical attention, while six deaths have so far been confirmed.
Three bodies were recovered during the initial rescue operations in the morning. Rescue teams later retrieved three more bodies from the debris, bringing the total number of fatalities to six. The recovered bodies belonged to middle-aged men. Authorities are yet to establish the exact number of workers, who were inside the building when the incident occurred, raising concerns that more people could still be trapped beneath the collapsed structure.
“The exact number of workers who were on site at the time of the collapse is still being established. Search and rescue teams are actively combing the debris to locate any individuals who may remain trapped,” the preliminary report stated.
Emergency responders have continued working at the scene to locate possible survivors and recover anyone still buried beneath the debris. The operation involves the Nairobi City County Fire Brigade and the Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) team, which are conducting searches through the remains of the collapsed building.
The rescue operation is ongoing as authorities work to determine whether additional workers remain trapped and establish the full extent of the damage. Meanwhile, Nairobi City County has appealed to members of the public and motorists using Mombasa Road near the SGR Terminus to avoid the immediate area.
The county said keeping people away from the scene would give emergency personnel enough space to conduct rescue operations without unnecessary interference as efforts to locate possible survivors continue.