Multi-story Building Collapse in Nairobi Leaves Seven Missing

The News

A partially constructed building in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, collapsed, leaving seven people missing under the rubble. The incident occurred in the Eastleigh area on Friday afternoon when the lower part of a 16 or 18-story building collapsed, causing dust to accumulate in nearby streets.

According to local government officials, most of the 66 workers who were inside the building at the time of the collapse managed to escape without serious injuries. However, the search is still ongoing to locate the individuals who were in the seven shops that were open on the lower part of the building.

Kipchumba Murkomen, a Ministry of Interior official, stated that "the search operation is complex due to the risk of restricting airflow to the missing persons during heavy machinery excavation." The use of heavy machinery has been suspended to avoid increasing risks to potential survivors.

This incident has raised questions about the building's compliance with regulatory standards and engineering criteria. The National Construction Authority in Kenya has stated that it is trying to identify the executing company, architect, and engineer involved in the project, but has not provided any details about previous inspections of the site.

Johnson Sakaja, the governor of Nairobi, told local media that "owners did not have the necessary documents to operate the building." He called on the national government to grant local authorities the power to punish "developers who ignore planned plans and security standards."

Building collapses in Nairobi are a recurring issue, often due to poor construction or inappropriate planning.