Rescue teams in Nairobi faced a difficult operation on Friday after a multi-storey building collapsed in the busy Eastleigh neighbourhood, with people feared trapped beneath the rubble and fresh questions emerging about how the structure was being used before construction was complete.
The building came down at about 1 p.m. on October 23 along Yusuf Haji Avenue, near 9th Street, in an area crowded with traders, workers, shoppers and residents. The collapse left a large mass of concrete and twisted steel, while emergency responders worked to determine whether anyone remained alive inside the wreckage.
One injured woman had been rescued and taken to hospital, according to police and local media reports. Police chief Issa Mohamud also said another person who had been heard calling for help later fell silent, raising concern among those involved in the search. Authorities had not established the full number of people trapped, injured or killed by the time of the latest reports.
The operation encountered a new difficulty later in the day. An update published by Kenyans.co.ke at around 6 p.m. said debris removal had been temporarily suspended after people believed to be trapped reportedly warned that the work was affecting their oxygen supply. Responders halted excavator operations while they considered how to continue without further endangering anyone who might still be alive beneath the collapsed structure.
The warning added urgency to an already complicated search. Heavy machinery is needed to move large sections of concrete, but rescuers must also avoid shifting debris in a way that could crush survivors or close the small spaces in which they may be breathing. Emergency teams, including specialised responders and sniffer dogs, were deployed as authorities tried to reach possible survivors.
A construction worker who escaped moments before the collapse told The Associated Press that he heard people screaming and saw colleagues rushing out after warnings that the building was coming down. The worker, Joseph Kaula, a plasterer who had been working on the fifth floor, said he feared some of his colleagues could be trapped in the basement.
The building’s lower floors were reportedly being used for businesses, including an electronics shop, a butchery and a grocery, even as construction continued above them. That detail has become central to questions about the danger faced not only by construction workers but also by people who may have been shopping or working inside the premises when the structure collapsed.
Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja said the building had received approval for construction from the county but did not have an occupation certificate. He said the ground-floor businesses had no authorisation to operate there while the building remained incomplete. Construction approval and permission to occupy a building are separate requirements; the existence of the former does not automatically mean a structure is ready for people to use.
Sakaja also criticised what he described as weak enforcement of building regulations, arguing that the penalties available for some violations were too small to deter developers. He cited a fine of 5,000 Kenyan shillings and said the county had sought stronger powers to handle cases involving breaches of construction rules.
The governor raised another concern about professional supervision, saying some developers allegedly dismiss architects, engineers or quantity surveyors after securing approval and then continue construction without the same level of oversight. He said the county had contacted professional bodies over the need to notify authorities when their members are removed from projects.
Those allegations have not yet established what caused the Eastleigh building to collapse. Investigators will need to determine whether the structure was built according to its approved design, whether the materials and workmanship met the required standards, whether qualified professionals supervised the work and whether inspections were carried out properly. The building’s construction records and approval documents are also likely to be important in establishing responsibility.
Police said action would be taken against anyone found responsible, including those involved in authorising or carrying out the construction. Authorities were also seeking the building’s owner, who had reportedly not presented himself to police. The investigation is expected to examine both the circumstances of the collapse and the decisions that allowed parts of the unfinished structure to be occupied.
The number of people who may have been inside the building remained uncertain. A casual labourer told reporters that more than 70 people, including workers and people providing services at the site, might have been in the basement. That figure has not been independently verified and should not be treated as an official count of missing people.
The emergency response brought together several agencies, including the Kenya Defence Forces, police, the National Youth Service, the Kenya Red Cross and Nairobi County emergency teams. Police also urged members of the public to keep away from the scene so that rescuers could reach the rubble. Earlier, officers used tear gas to disperse crowds after onlookers obstructed access routes, complicating efforts to manage the area.
The collapse has renewed concern over construction safety in Nairobi, where rapid development has placed pressure on planning, inspection and enforcement systems. It also follows another building incident in the city earlier in October, when a structure formerly housing Club Avenida on Moi Avenue collapsed during planned demolition work, injuring four workers.
The two incidents involved different circumstances, and there is no evidence that they share the same cause. But the Eastleigh disaster raises a wider question for the authorities: whether the rules designed to keep buildings safe are being followed throughout construction, rather than simply at the point when a project receives approval.
For now, the immediate priority remains finding anyone who may still be trapped and establishing the extent of the loss. The cause of the collapse has not been confirmed, and the final number of casualties remains unknown. The answers will depend on the rescue operation, the investigation into the building’s construction and the release of verified information by the authorities.
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