NAIROBI, Kenya- Construction workers who escaped the collapse of a building in Eastleigh have described scenes of dust, cracking walls and people screaming as they fled.
The 18-storey building was under construction along 9th Street when it collapsed on Friday afternoon.
The collapse sent debris into the surrounding area, halted business on the busy street and triggered an ongoing search for people feared trapped beneath the rubble.
“We were about 70. Most of us managed to escape,” one worker told Y News.
He said some of his colleagues were missing.
“There was a lot of dust; you could not see anything,” another worker said. “I was not injured. At least I managed to escape.”
A worker identified as Muturi said he got out after noticing cracks in the building.
“I managed to escape when it started showing cracks. We sustained minor injuries,” he said.
Another worker said he was on the fifth floor when he heard people screaming.
He said he initially thought people were fighting, which he described as a common occurrence in the area.
“I was the last person to leave the building from the 5th floor,” he said.
The workers’ accounts came as rescuers searched the rubble for people who may still be inside.
Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja said teams were clearing debris and had brought in excavators, breakers and sniffer dogs to support the operation.
“Our focus right now is to save lives,” Sakaja said.
He added that responders were creating space to allow oxygen to reach people communicating from inside the building.
Sakaja’s office said the ground floor was occupied and there were reports of people possibly trapped beneath the debris.
An injured woman was rescued and taken to hospital, according to a Y News reporter from the scene.
The number of people inside the building at the time of the collapse, and the total number affected, had not been established.
The rescue operation was complicated by crowds gathering near the site.
Police said people had blocked roads, restricting access for emergency crews, and officers used tear gas to clear routes.
The Kenya Red Cross said its teams had been dispatched to support the response.
The cause of the collapse had not been established.
