Editor's Review

The building collapsed overnight; there are fears that more people are trapped in the rubble.

At least four people were left injured after a building collapsed during demolition along Moi Avenue in Nairobi's Central Business District (CBD) at midnight on Saturday, October 17. 

The structure, which Nairobi County officials say formerly housed Club Avenida, came down as workers were carrying out demolition at night. Preliminary reports indicate that the collapse overwhelmed workers at the site.

The building had reportedly been earmarked for demolition, though early accounts also described it as under construction.

Police officers and emergency response teams rushed to the scene and began rescue operations while trying to establish how many people were affected.

Early reports spoke of at least three injuries, with several others feared trapped.

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Nairobi County Chief Officer for Citizen Engagement and Customer Service Geoffrey Mosiria later put the number of injured at four.

Some of the responders at the scene.

Mosiria said the county wants the cause of the collapse established and called for a probe by its engineers.

"I call upon our county engineers to conduct a thorough investigation into this specific demolition to establish the cause of the collapse, determine whether qualified experts were involved to guide the demolition, and verify whether all the necessary demolition approvals had been obtained," he said.

He noted that the timing of the collapse limited the harm.

The incident happened at night, when there was little human traffic along the busy road. Mosiria said lives could have been lost had it occurred during the day.

Photographs from the scene show rescuers working through the debris under floodlights and emergency lights, with onlookers gathered at a distance. Police and emergency crews had cordoned off part of the area.

The county has not said how many people are still missing or who was carrying out the demolition. It has also not said whether the operation had the required approvals, which is one of the questions Mosiria asked the engineers to answer.

Mosiria turned his attention to the wider construction industry, urging developers to follow the rules.

"I appeal to all developers to strictly comply with county laws during construction and demolition and work closely with county engineers to ensure safety and protect lives," he said.

There are fears that others remain trapped in the rubble.