Many feared trapped as a tall building collapses in Kenya
[October 24, 2026]
By EVELYNE MUSAMBI and BRIAN INGANGA
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Many people were feared trapped as a tall building
collapsed Friday in Kenya’s capital, leaving a huge mound of concrete
and more than a dozen floors stacked like pancakes, with little space
between them.
The building was under construction when it collapsed at about 1 p.m.
along a busy commercial street in Nairobi's Eastleigh area, which is
often crowded with thousands of traders and residents.
Nairobi police chief Issa Mohamud said the building had more than 10
upper floors under construction. Rescue operations were complicated,
with police firing tear gas at people who had begun looting neighboring
shops, as officers sought to clear the area and provide access to
emergency response teams.
Joseph Kaula made it out just in time. A plasterer working on the fifth
floor, he said he heard screams and spotted other workers rushing
outside, shouting that the building was collapsing.
“I was the last person to walk out before it collapsed and the whole
area was filled with dust,” Kaula said.
Kaula suspects a few of his colleagues were trapped in the basement.
One injured woman was rescued and hospitalized, and another person who
was crying for help had gone silent, the police chief said.
Mohamud also warned of a possible secondary collapse, as the collapsed
building was leaning on its neighbor.
There was little in the way of heavy equipment immediately available.
Hours later, a group of rescuers in hard hats were using poles stripped
from trees to poke at the huge pile of rubble. One excavator began to
move concrete bound with steel away. By evening, at least two more back
shovels arrived.
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Security forces and civil defense work after a multi-story building
collapsed in Nairobi, Kenya, Friday, Oct. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian
Inganga)
Rescuers were hoping to reach into any spaces left in the basement
and the ground level, which had been rented out for an electronics
shop, a butchery and a grocery while construction continued on the
upper floors.
Residents said some of their loved ones who were trapped had made
phone calls calling for help immediately after the collapse, but
that their phones later became unreachable. A tent was set up where
people could report the missing. How many might be inside the
wreckage wasn't known.
Building collapses are a recurring problem in Nairobi. County
officials responsible for issuing building permits have been accused
of failing to conduct adequate inspections to ensure developers
comply with safety guidelines and construction standards.
“Investigations will be carried out,” Mohamud said. “We’ll make sure
people face the law for any negligence.”
Nairobi Gov. Johnson Sakaja said the building had been approved for
construction, but did not have a certificate of occupation, so
opening shops on the ground floor was against the law. Kenya's
county governments need stronger enforcement powers, he said,
arguing that lenient penalties for non-compliance are just a “slap
on the wrist” for developers that violate regulations.
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