Six killed in Syokimau as another building collapses in Nairobi

Six people have been killed after another building under construction collapsed in the Nairobi metropolitan area, three weeks after a multi-storey structure came crashing down in Eastleigh, killing eight people.

The Friday, November 13, incident occurred at a construction site along Mombasa Road near the Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) Terminus in Syokimau.

The eight-storey building partially collapsed at approximately 9.52am while construction workers were reportedly on site, with the top slab giving way and bringing down part of the structure.

According to a preliminary report by the Nairobi City County emergency and rescue team, five people were pulled out alive and rushed to hospital for emergency treatment, while six fatalities had been confirmed by the time of the report.

Three bodies were recovered during the initial rescue operations, with three more retrieved from the debris later. The victims were identified as middle-aged men.

"The exact number of workers who were on site at the time of the collapse is still being established. Search and rescue teams are actively combing the debris to locate any individuals who may remain trapped," the report stated.

Emergency responders, including the Nairobi City County Fire Brigade and Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) teams, were deployed to the scene to search for workers who may have been trapped beneath the rubble.

The Kenya Red Cross and other emergency response personnel were also reported to be involved in the operation.

Kenya Red Cross in an update confirmed that three people have been rescued and taken to hospital after the building under construction collapsed.

“Search and rescue operations are ongoing for one person reported missing. Our Red Cross Action Team is on site, working alongside other partners. We will share more updates as they come in,” the update stated.

Authorities urged members of the public and motorists using Mombasa Road near the SGR Terminus to keep away from the immediate incident area to allow rescue teams to work without obstruction.

The exact number of people who were at the construction site when the building collapsed had not been established in the preliminary report, leaving open the possibility that more people could still be unaccounted for as search operations continued.

The Syokimau incident comes exactly three weeks after another deadly building collapse in Eastleigh, Nairobi, where a multi-storey building under construction collapsed along 9th Street on October 23, 2026.

The Eastleigh disaster triggered a major multi-agency search and rescue operation involving the Kenya Defence Forces, National Youth Service and Kenya Red Cross.

Authorities recovered eight bodies and rescued four people alive before officially ending the operation on November 6.

Three people remained unaccounted for when the recovery exercise was concluded.

The collapse also raised serious questions about construction approvals, building safety and enforcement of regulations in the capital.

Investigations were subsequently pursued into possible criminal negligence involving developers, contractors and public officials.

Proceedings before the Nairobi City County Assembly also exposed concerns over how building approval applications were handled, including allegations that some applications had been submitted through brokers.

The Syokimau incident also comes amid wider concerns over building failures in Nairobi and its surrounding areas, with previous incidents reported in places including Kibera, South C and along Ngong Road.