At least six construction workers were killed and five others rescued after an eight-storey building under construction partially collapsed in Syokimau, Machakos County, on Friday morning, authorities confirmed, in the latest deadly incident to expose Kenya’s deepening construction safety crisis.
The collapse occurred at approximately 9 a.m. at a site near Argile Hotel along the Syokimau SGR access road.
Preliminary reports indicate that the upper section of the structure gave way during concreting works on the ninth floor, with suspected formwork failure cited as a possible contributing factor.
Nairobi Regional Police Commander Issa Mohamud confirmed the casualty figures, stating that three bodies were retrieved during initial morning operations, with three additional middle-aged male victims subsequently recovered from the debris.
Mohamud said search and rescue teams were continuing to examine the site for anyone who might still be trapped.
“Search and rescue teams are actively combing the debris to locate any individuals who may remain trapped,” Mohamud said. The exact number of workers on site at the time of the collapse was still being established.
The Kenya Red Cross, which deployed its Action Team to the scene alongside other emergency responders, provided earlier updates on the rescue operation.
The organisation confirmed that three people had been rescued and taken to hospital, while another person was initially reported missing.
“Three people have been rescued and taken to hospital after a building under construction collapsed in Syokimau. Search and rescue operations are ongoing for one person reported missing,” the organisation stated on X.
The National Police Service extended condolences to the families of the victims and urged those searching for missing relatives to seek assistance through the Kenya Red Cross desk established at the scene.
The Nairobi City County Fire team and Urban Search and Rescue teams were deployed to the site, while officials from the National Construction Authority launched investigations into whether construction safety requirements had been observed.
Friday’s collapse is the latest in a string of deadly construction failures in the Nairobi metropolitan area, raising urgent questions about regulatory oversight and enforcement.
Just three weeks ago, an 18-storey building under construction collapsed in Eastleigh, Nairobi, killing eight people. That incident triggered a 15-day search and rescue operation and prompted revelations that the development lacked necessary county construction approvals.
Earlier in August, a wall collapse at a Syokimau construction site killed one worker and injured five others.
Government statistics cited by the Associated Press indicate that Kenya recorded 98 building collapses over a five-year period, resulting in 104 deaths and 80 injuries.
According to the state-run Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis, building collapses in Kenya are primarily caused by poor workmanship, substandard materials, weak supervision and faulty structural designs, among other factors.
The recurring tragedies have renewed calls for stricter enforcement of building regulations, proper supervision of construction projects and regular inspections to identify at-risk structures.
As attention turned to the circumstances that led to the structure’s failure, the question of accountability once again hung over Kenya’s rapidly expanding construction industry.
Kenya has witnessed a disturbing pattern of fatal building collapses in recent years, particularly in densely populated informal settlements and rapidly developing corridors around Nairobi.
The October 2026 Eastleigh collapse, which killed eight people and left three others unaccounted for, exposed gaps in the approval and inspection process.
Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja stated that the development lacked county construction approvals despite being registered with the National Construction Authority in July 2025.
The Syokimau incident, occurring less than a month later, underscores the systemic nature of the problem, with investigations into one disaster continuing as construction proceeds elsewhere.
The National Construction Authority, which was present at the Syokimau site, has faced repeated criticism over its capacity to monitor thousands of active construction sites across the country.
