At least one woman was rescued while several people were feared trapped after an 18-storey building under construction collapsed along 9th Street in Eastleigh, Nairobi, on Friday, triggering a major search and rescue operation.
The building came crashing down at around 1pm, raising fears that construction workers, shopkeepers, customers and pedestrians could have been caught in the rubble.
The structure, which had a basement parking area, reportedly suffered a complete pancake-type collapse, with the floors collapsing onto one another.
The circumstances surrounding the incident remained unclear by the time of publication, as emergency teams raced against time to search for survivors and establish the number of people trapped beneath the debris.
Concern was heightened by reports that the building’s ground floor was already occupied by businesses despite the ongoing construction, raising fears that traders and customers may have been inside when the structure collapsed.
Emergency responders, including police officers, military personnel, Kenya Red Cross teams and Nairobi City County emergency crews, rushed to the scene to coordinate rescue efforts.
Heavy machinery was deployed to remove debris and create access routes to areas where survivors could be trapped.
Nairobi police boss Issa Mohamed said authorities were still gathering information about the incident, adding that more officers had been deployed to support emergency service providers and secure the scene.
Mohamed said the cause of the collapse had not been established and that a multi-agency team would investigate the incident.
The team comprises the National Police Service, National Construction Authority (NCA), National Building Inspectorate, Engineers Board of Kenya, Board of Registration of Architects and Quantity Surveyors (BORAQS), National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) and Nairobi City County Government, among other agencies.
“Any person or group of people found culpable will be held fully accountable in accordance with the laws of Kenya,” Mohamed said.
Police were also searching for the building’s owner and planned to interview City Hall officials as investigators sought to establish whether construction and approval procedures had been followed.
The collapse attracted large crowds, complicating efforts by emergency responders to access the scene.
Police officers used tear gas to disperse a rowdy crowd that had gathered in the area, with some people reportedly blocking roads and interfering with rescue operations.
Witnesses said chaos erupted as suspected looters targeted nearby shops, while some individuals allegedly pelted ambulances with stones, forcing emergency vehicles to briefly divert before accessing the scene.
The disruption raised concerns over the safety of rescue personnel and the potential delay in reaching people trapped beneath the rubble.
Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja also arrived at the scene as emergency teams struggled to coordinate operations and secure the machinery needed to clear the debris.
The collapse occurred in a densely populated commercial neighbourhood, where buildings stand close to busy roads and businesses, increasing fears that members of the public could have been affected.
By the time of publication, authorities had not established the total number of people trapped, the number of casualties or the cause of the collapse. Rescue operations were ongoing.
The incident is likely to intensify scrutiny of building approvals, construction supervision and enforcement of safety regulations in Nairobi, particularly following previous deadly building collapses.
It comes months after the collapse of Manzil Towers in South C, Nairobi, on January 2, 2026, which claimed the lives of two people and resulted in criminal charges against four individuals.
The prosecution alleges that the accused unlawfully caused the deaths of Ali Adan Galgalo Abdi and Hassan Huka. The four denied two counts of manslaughter contrary to Section 202 as read with Section 205 of the Penal Code.
The accused are Abdishakur Muse Mohammed, Yussuf Mohammed Yussuf, Daniel Alphonse Odhiambo and Gideon Chege Gakundi, also known as Gideon Chege Mwangi.
According to the prosecution, the four were implicated in the circumstances surrounding the collapse of the South C building. The case also includes allegations of regulatory failures and, against two of the accused, forgery-related offences.
Abdishakur Muse Mohammed and Yussuf Mohammed Yussuf face additional charges relating to alleged forgery of a notification of approval for a change of land use and an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) licence.
Prosecutors allege that the documents were forged in March 2023 and subsequently uploaded to the National Construction Authority’s online projects registration system as genuine approvals issued by Nairobi City County and NEMA.
The pair are also accused of commencing the construction project without a valid EIA licence, contrary to the Environmental Management and Coordination Act. The prosecution alleges that construction began in February 2024 without the required environmental approval.
In orders issued by Justice Dr Nabil Mokaya Orina, Patrick Analo Akivaga, David Kibui Kigathi and another applicant were allowed to pursue a judicial review application challenging the charging decisions.
The Eastleigh collapse is expected to renew demands for accountability among developers, building professionals and public officials responsible for approving and supervising construction projects.
As rescue teams continue searching through the rubble, investigators face the task of determining what caused the 18-storey structure to collapse and whether any construction or regulatory failures contributed to the disaster.
If you like our work, you can buy us a soda
Buy us a soda 🥤
