Many feared trapped under collapsed building in Nairobi

A multi-story building that was still under construction collapsed in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi on Friday, resulting in casualties and looting at the site, according to local media.

The Nairobi County governor's office confirmed the collapse, adding in a statement that people may be trapped beneath rubble.

Videos spreading online showed a dramatic crash and huge clouds of dust as the building came down in a busy business-residential mixed-use district.

The Red Cross sent teams to the site, posting on social media: "At around 1340 hours, a multi-story building under construction collapsed on 9th Street in Eastleigh, Nairobi."

There were conflicting reports on the size of the unfinished building. Nairobi Police Chief Issa Mohamud said the building had more than 10 floors under construction, while other accounts range from 12 to 18 stories.

Governor Johnson Sakaja's office said only the building's ground floor was occupied.

"There were some businesses in the basement, and workers who were busy building," local resident Abdi Aziz, 25, told the AFP news agency. "But since it was Friday prayers, a lot of them were at the mosque."

A video published by Reuters news agency showed people gathered at the scene as an excavator moved rubble.

But rescue operations were proving complicated. Police officers sought to clear the area and provide access to emergency response teams but had to fire tear gas at people who had begun looting neighboring shops.

Eastleigh is a densely packed residential and market area, known as a hub for the Somali community.

It was not clear what caused the building to collapse. Nairobi is undergoing an extremely rapid construction boom, with high-rise buildings shooting up all over the city as Kenya's population expands.

Building collapses are a recurring problem in Nairobi.

County officials responsible for issuing building permits have been accused of failing to conduct adequate inspections to ensure developers comply with construction standards and safety guidelines.

There were 86 building collapses between 2009 and 2019, killing an estimated 200 people, according to a report by the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis.

Meanwhile, a separate audit of almost 15,000 buildings by the National Building Inspectorate found that 4.8% were very dangerous while 72.3% were classified as unsafe.