Eight-storey building collapses near Nairobi, killing six

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 13 Nov, 13:38 · Archive

An eight-storey building under construction collapsed near Nairobi on Friday, killing at least six people and injuring five. The collapse occurred in Mlolongo, around 12 miles southeast of Kenya's capital. Rescue workers pulled five people alive from the wreckage and rushed them to hospital. Local official Bramwell Simiyu confirmed that all six people killed were middle-aged men, with three bodies retrieved during initial morning operations and three more recovered later from the debris.

Emergency teams continued searching through the debris amid fears that more people could be trapped. Nairobi City County's emergency and rescue team said: 'The exact number of workers who were on site at the time of the collapse is still being established.' According to a preliminary report, the building's uppermost concrete slab gave way, though investigators have not yet established why the slab failed.

The collapse comes after a similar deadly building collapse in Nairobi on 23 October, which killed eight people. The twin disasters have prompted calls for tougher construction oversight. The Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis has identified poor workmanship, inadequate supervision, substandard materials and faulty designs as wider causes of building collapses in the country.

How it is being reported

• Kenyan building collapse near Nairobi kills six peopleFive people reportedly survive as emergency crews search for anyone still trapped in the rubble.Al Jazeera · 13 Nov, 13:11
• Six dead after eight-storey building collapses in Kenya as rescuers search rubbleRescue workers are searching through debris in Mlolongo near Nairobi, Kenya, after a building collapse left at least six people dead and five injured.The Mirror · 13 Nov, 13:10

In this story: Kenya · Nairobi · Mlolongo · Kenya Red Cross · Nairobi City County

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem · Corrections log