Riverside Drive wall collapse in Nairobi kills three a day after a deadly building failure in Syokimau
A perimeter wall at a construction site on Riverside Drive in Nairobi gave way around 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 14, killing three people. Eleven workers were pulled out alive with serious injuries, and rescuers were still accounting for the rest of the 39 workers on the site list, The Standard reported.
Nothing had risen above ground on the plot yet. County officials said the project was still at the excavation and foundation stage. Bramwell Simiyu, Nairobi County's chief officer for disaster management, said several agencies were working the site. Fourteen workers were confirmed safe at the scene, and hospital checks were under way for the others, according to The Standard and Xinhua.
Issa Mohamud, the Nairobi regional police commander, told Xinhua that a team was investigating what happened. Once the search is over, county planners and the National Construction Authority plan to audit the site's structure and whether it followed the rules, The Standard reported. Neither outlet named the developer or the contractor.
The wall fell a day after an eight-story building under construction in Syokimau partly collapsed, killing six workers. Police there suspect the formwork gave way. In Eastleigh on Oct. 23, an unfinished 12-story building fell on 9th Street, killing eight. The Standard counted more than 20 such incidents in Kenya by Nov. 13, with 38 deaths.
Why it matters: Two deadly failures in two days hit sites still at the excavation and frame stage. The county and the National Construction Authority plan to audit the Riverside site, so contractors in Nairobi should keep their temporary works records ready.
Sources
- 3 killed, 11 rescued as perimeter wall collapses in KenyaXinhua, Nov 14
- Deaths and destruction as perimeter wall collapses in RiversideThe Standard, Nov 14