Four injured after building collapses during demolition along Nairobi's Moi Avenue

Four injured after building collapses during demolition along Nairobi's Moi Avenue

Four workers were injured, one critically, after a building formerly housing Club Avenida collapsed during planned demolition works along Moi Avenue in Nairobi’s Central Business District (CBD).

The incident occurred at Avenida Building, located on Nairobi Block 28/285 in Nairobi Central Ward, Starehe Sub-County, during a nighttime demolition exercise intended to prepare the property for redevelopment.

Nairobi City County’s Fire and Rescue Services responded to the incident at approximately 12.11am before handing over incident command to the National Disaster Management Unit (NDMU) as part of a multi-agency emergency response.

According to a situation report issued by the County Executive Committee Member for Built Environment, 24 workers were at the site when the incident occurred.

Preliminary reports indicate that supporting metal beams on the less stable side of the building may have been cut, triggering the collapse. However, the exact cause of the incident had not been established by the time of publication.

Three of the injured workers were taken to Kenyatta National Hospital for treatment, while an official from the NDMU said one victim was in critical condition and the other three were stable.

Emergency teams cordoned off the site and launched search and rescue operations amid concerns that workers could have been trapped beneath the rubble.

The county said comprehensive primary and secondary searches, including the deployment of canine search teams, were completed by 1.50am.

A subsequent personnel accountability exercise confirmed that all 24 workers had been accounted for, with no fatalities reported as of 12.30pm on Saturday.

Machinery has since been deployed to clear debris and secure the affected area as emergency teams continue to assess the site.

The collapse has renewed concerns about safety standards during demolition works, with members of the public calling for investigations and accountability over the incident.

Geoffrey Mosiria, the County Chief Officer for Citizen Engagement and Customer Service, called on county engineers to investigate the circumstances surrounding the collapse and establish whether the demolition had been carried out in accordance with the required safety procedures.

"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 in a statement.

Mosiria also urged developers to comply with existing regulations and consult county engineers before undertaking construction or demolition works to safeguard workers and members of the public.

The county said a structural safety assessment would be conducted before any further work is permitted at the site to establish its safety and prevent further risks.

Further updates are expected as the multi-agency team concludes its assessments and investigations into the cause of the collapse.