NAIROBI, Kenya March 18 — Emergency teams are racing against time to rescue workers trapped after a 22-storey building under construction partially collapsed in Westlands on Wednesday, the Kenya Red Cross said.
In a brief statement, the agency said response teams had been deployed to the site and were conducting search and rescue operations.
The number of people trapped in the debris was not immediately clear.
“Response teams remain on site conducting search and rescue operations,” the Kenya Red Cross said.
The incident in the upscale district of Nairobi comes just hours after authorities confirmed a fatal building collapse in Kericho County, adding to the growing concerns over construction safety.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Ministry of Interior and National Administration said one person had died after a building under construction collapsed in the Kaptebeswet Bypass area of Kericho.
According to a ministry statement, the structure gave way at Chebocho sub-location, prompting a multi-agency response.
Four people were rescued from the rubble and taken to Kericho County Referral Hospital for treatment.
“Regrettably, one fatality has been confirmed,” Kericho County Commissioner Jeremiah Gicheru said, adding that the body had been moved to the hospital mortuary.
Authorities said rescue teams, including the Kenya Red Cross, National Government Administrative Officers and other emergency units, were working to account for all workers who had been at the site at the time of the collapse.
The ministry urged the public to stay away from the affected area to allow rescue efforts to proceed without interference.
In an earlier update, the Kenya Red Cross said 22 people had been rescued from the Kericho site.
Of these, 17 sustained minor injuries and were treated at the scene, while four were taken to hospital in critical condition.
Police, county fire services and ambulance teams were involved in the operation, with rescuers working into the evening amid fears that more people could be trapped beneath the debris.
The causes of both collapses were not immediately clear.
The incidents come just two days after another building collapse in Nairobi’s Shauri Moyo area that killed four people and injured several others, raising fresh questions about enforcement of building regulations in the country’s fast-growing urban centres.
