Three workers killed as a perimeter wall collapses at a Riverside excavation site in Nairobi, police say
Three workers were killed when a perimeter wall collapsed on Saturday morning at a construction site in Riverside, Nairobi, that was still at the excavation and foundation stage, Nairobi police boss Issa Mohamud said. The county government said 39 workers were recorded at the site; eleven were rescued alive with severe injuries and taken to hospital, fourteen were accounted for and confirmed safe, and rescue teams were still working to establish the whereabouts of the others. The collapse came a day after six workers died in a building collapse at Syokimau.
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Key points
- Three workers killed and eleven rescued alive with severe injuries after a perimeter wall collapsed at a Riverside excavation site, police and the county government say.
- 39 workers were recorded at the site; 14 were confirmed safe and the search for the rest was still under way in the reports read.
- The Kenya Red Cross sent Action Teams and two ambulances; 11 injured people were evacuated to hospital.
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- It is Nairobi's second fatal construction collapse in two days, after six deaths at Syokimau on Friday.
What happened
The wall gave way at about 11:30am on Saturday at a property undergoing excavation near Grand Residence in Riverside. Preliminary assessments said the main building was still at the excavation and foundation stage, with no upper floors erected.
Workers at the site began searching the rubble themselves alongside emergency teams, and the area was cordoned off as multi-agency rescue operations continued.
What we know / what we don't know yet
What we know
- The police boss's toll of three dead, the county's site record of 39 workers, and the Red Cross evacuation of 11 injured are all on the record.
- The site was at excavation and foundation stage when the wall gave way.
What we don't know yet
- The final accounting for every worker on the site record — the search was still under way in the reports read.
- Why the wall collapsed — no cause has been given, and the promised audit has not yet reported.
- The identities of the workers who died — not released in the reports read.
Claim by claim
Show all claims (6)
Why this label: Both reports describe the same wall collapse at an excavation site on Saturday morning; Capital FM carried the first emergency reports.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The toll is the police boss's own on-record statement at the scene. Earlier reports from the scene had spoken of two people feared dead before any toll was confirmed.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The 11-injured figure is confirmed a second way: the Kenya Red Cross reported 11 injured people evacuated to hospital by EMS Kenya ambulances.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: On the county's own numbers — 39 recorded, 14 safe, 11 rescued injured and three dead — 11 workers were still unaccounted for in the report read; no later accounting was read.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The Red Cross statement is quoted the same way in both reports; Alai's criticism is his position, carried as such.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The audit is the county's stated next step; no cause for the collapse has been given.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why it matters
Two fatal collapses at Nairobi-area construction sites in two days — six dead at Syokimau on Friday, three at Riverside on Saturday — put the county's oversight of building sites under immediate scrutiny, and a county and National Construction Authority audit of the Riverside site has been promised once the rescue ends.
Background
A building under construction collapses at Syokimau, killing six workers; police say all 405 workers on that site were later accounted for.
A perimeter wall collapses at the Riverside excavation site in Nairobi; police say three workers were killed.
Update history
No silent edits. Every change is written here, with its time.
- Latest
Published in Checking state — the toll and the rescue figures are on the record from the police and the county government, and the search was still under way in the latest reports read.