At least six people have been injured after a building under construction caved in at the intersection of Racecourse and Kirinyaga Road in Nairobi’s Central Business District early Wednesday morning.
Police said 12 individuals were successfully rescued from the structure, which reportedly collapsed near the OTC area in downtown Nairobi during the early hours of February 11.
The Kenya Red Cross confirmed deploying emergency response teams to the scene shortly after the incident was reported.
In a brief statement, the humanitarian agency said rescue teams were mobilised but indicated that further details would be provided as assessments continued.
According to the Red Cross, all workers present at the site have since been accounted for. Those injured were taken to hospital for treatment.
Authorities have launched investigations to determine the cause of the collapse, which remains unclear.
Nairobi has experienced repeated cases of structural failures in recent years, largely attributed to high demand for housing and concerns that some developers circumvent building regulations or fail to adhere to approved standards.
The latest incident marks the third significant building collapse reported this year.
On January 2, a 16-storey building under construction in South C came down, killing at least two people and trapping several others beneath the debris.
Rescue operations at the site lasted several days as emergency teams worked to retrieve victims.
Less than two weeks later, on January 10, another building under construction collapsed in the Karen area, resulting in two deaths and seven injuries.
Preliminary investigations by the Nairobi City County Government and the National Construction Authority have previously linked such tragedies to structural weaknesses arising from poor workmanship and the use of substandard construction materials.
Professional bodies, including the Institution of Engineers of Kenya and the Architectural Association of Kenya, have repeatedly cautioned that a significant proportion of buildings in Nairobi may not meet safety standards.
Estimates from industry stakeholders suggest that between 80 and 85 percent of structures in the capital could be unsafe for occupation.
Concerns over structural safety are not new.
In 2015, after eight buildings collapsed and claimed 15 lives, former President Uhuru Kenyatta ordered a nationwide audit of buildings.
The National Construction Authority’s findings at the time indicated that 58 percent of Nairobi’s buildings were unfit for habitation.
Wednesday’s collapse has once again renewed debate over enforcement of building codes and oversight within the construction sector as authorities continue their investigations.
Tags
News