High-Rise Under Construction Collapses in Nairobi Trapping Workers

The unfinished high-rise on Yusuf Haji Avenue came down at roughly 1:40 p.m. local time, reducing thousands of tons of concrete to a vast pile of twisted debris. Emergency responders and heavy excavators immediately swarmed the site as dust engulfed the busy commercial district.[1][3]

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen confirmed that 67 construction workers were on site when the structure gave way. Of those, 66 escaped uninjured and one sustained injuries, but seven people were officially reported missing. The missing individuals include occupants of 11 shops operating on the ground floor and basement.[4]

The Kenya Red Cross, alongside the Kenya Defence Forces and the National Disaster Operations Centre, launched an immediate search operation. Rescuers have pulled at least two survivors from the wreckage, including a man and a woman who were rushed to Kenyatta National Hospital for treatment.[2][4]

Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja stated that some people trapped inside had been communicating with rescue teams through the debris. Excavators and breakers were mobilized to remove large boulders and open spaces for oxygen.[4]

"The people who've been communicating from inside, they've been talking," Sakaja told reporters at the scene. He noted that the immediate priority was keeping those survivors alive while heavy machinery carefully cleared the largest obstructions.[4]

Search and Tracing Efforts

The Red Cross established a tracing desk at the scene to assist families searching for missing relatives. The humanitarian agency initially recorded 31 missing-person cases before tracing and accounting for 26 of them, leaving emergency responders focused on locating the remaining individuals feared trapped in the lower levels.[2][4]

Disaster officers noted the challenge of verifying exact numbers, as some workers had left the site before the collapse or struggled to provide accurate information amid the confusion. The search operation entered its second day on October 24, with teams working carefully to navigate the unstable wreckage.[1][4]

Engineers at the site identified the disaster as a "pancake collapse," where floors stack directly onto one another. This structural failure leaves victims trapped beneath heavy concrete slabs, complicating rescue efforts as teams must clear the debris without destabilizing the remaining wreckage and endangering survivors.[3][4]

The Ministry of Health activated disaster response protocols, establishing a 24-hour coordination desk at the site. Public Health Principal Secretary Mary Muthoni deployed medical personnel from referral facilities and placed nearby hospitals on standby to handle emergencies as the rescue operation progressed.[4]

Warning Signs and Escape

Survivors who narrowly escaped the disaster described noticing structural warnings moments before the collapse. One construction worker reported seeing a cracked column, prompting a desperate dash to safety as the structure began to fail.[1][4]

"We immediately got out to save ourselves and ran," the worker said, estimating that roughly 70 people had been inside the building at the time. He expressed deep concern for colleagues who had been working in the basement levels.[4]

Another witness, a boda boda rider named Jacob, recounted hearing an unsettling sound before watching the towering structure fold downwards in about two minutes. The resulting dust cloud was so thick that survivors needed torches to see people standing right next to them.[4]

The presence of occupied shops on the ground floor of an active construction site has drawn sharp criticism. Workers reported that crews were active on the ground and first floors, as well as near the top of the structure, when the building gave way.[4]

Muthoni urged members of the public without relevant medical skills to stay away from the rescue operation. "The ministry is asking unskilled medical personnel to keep off or wait to be directed on where to help to avoid further risks," she stated.[4]

Regulatory Failures Exposed

The collapse has renewed intense scrutiny of Nairobi's building regulations and the county's enforcement capacity. Sakaja revealed that while the property received a change-of-use approval in 2024, the developer's subsequent application for a 15-storey structure with a basement had never been approved by the county.[4]

County planners had previously raised concerns in November 2024 about the plans for shops in the basement and on the ground floor. Despite an enforcement order issued earlier in 2026, construction continued, and the ground-floor commercial spaces were occupied without a valid occupation certificate.[4]

"Whoever is the owner, whoever authorised the building, all of them will be charged properly," Nairobi Police Commander Issa Mohamud said. He emphasized that criminal charges would follow a comprehensive inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the collapse and any potential negligence.[4]

The Engineers Board of Kenya also launched an independent investigation into the professionals involved in the project. The board warned that any confirmed breach of professional standards, licensing requirements, or engineering obligations would attract severe regulatory action under the law.[4]

Accountability and Next Steps

Sakaja called for county governments to regain prosecutorial powers to handle building-related offenses directly. He argued that the penalties currently imposed in some cases—with fines as low as 5,000 Kenyan shillings—are too lenient to deter rogue developers from continuing with illegal and unsafe construction practices.[4]

The Ministry of Health directed public health officers to actively monitor occupational hazards at all buildings under construction across the capital. The directive aims to identify safety risks and ensure prompt reporting to prevent similar incidents in Nairobi's rapidly expanding and densely populated neighborhoods.[4]

Murkomen assured affected families that the government is providing psychosocial support and all necessary resources to expedite the rescue operation. He reiterated that the national and county governments, in collaboration with professional bodies, will hold those responsible for the disaster fully accountable.[4]

As heavy machinery continues to clear the twisted metal and broken concrete along Yusuf Haji Avenue, the priority remains reaching the basement levels. Rescue teams are working around the clock, driven by the hope of finding the seven missing individuals still trapped beneath the rubble.[1][2][4]