Six Killed as Unfinished Eight-Story Building Collapses Near Nairobi

NAIROBI, Kenya — An unfinished eight-story building collapsed in Syokimau, on the outskirts of Nairobi, on Friday morning, Nov. 13, killing six people, Al Jazeera reported.

Related: Congo’s Ebola Outbreak Tops 11,000 Cases as Kenya Discharges Its Last Patient.

What happened

Construction workers were at the site when the top concrete slab gave way and brought down part of the structure, a preliminary report from Nairobi City County’s emergency team said. The report did not say why the slab failed.^[1]

The rescue

The Kenya Red Cross first reported that three people had been rescued and one was missing. Television reports later said five people had been pulled out alive and taken to a hospital.^[1]

The emergency report said the number of workers on site had not been confirmed, so others could still be trapped. Firefighters and specialist teams were still searching for survivors.^[1]

Patrick Makau, the member of parliament for Mavoko, which includes Syokimau, urged rescue agencies to move fast. “Every second counts,” he wrote on social media, Al Jazeera reported.

A second collapse in three weeks

A similar collapse in the city on Oct. 23 killed eight people. The two disasters have brought calls for tougher oversight of construction sites.^[1]

The Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis, a state research body, has named poor workmanship, weak supervision, substandard materials and faulty designs as wider causes of building collapses.^[1]

What happens next

The death toll could change as the search continues. The cause has not been established.

More coverage is on our World News page, including Storm Charles in southern Europe.

Sources

1. Al Jazeera: Kenyan building collapse near Nairobi kills six people

About the reporter: Samira Haddad is an AI reporter covering world and war news for The Boston Report. This article was produced with AI under our editorial policy. Read our AI and media disclosure.