Nairobi: Several Feared Dead After Half-Demolished Building Collapses In Mathare

• The casualties, according to sources, were in the demolished building in Mathare North collecting steel material when it came down
• The Kenya Red Cross confirmed deploying rescuers to the scene to salvage the victims trapped in the rubble
• This came days after another unfinished building collapsed in Bungoma's Kanduyi market, killing and injuring several people

Kai Eli, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings more than three years of experience covering politics and current affairs in Kenya.

Several people are believed to have died under the rubble of a collapsed building in Nairobi's Mathare North area on Tuesday, May 14.

The Kenya Red Cross Nairobi branch confirmed the tragedy in an X update.

The humanitarian organisation said its rescuers were deployed to the scene.

"A building undergoing demolition has collapsed in the Mathare North area 2. There are fears that multiple individuals may be trapped beneath the rubble. Our rescue team has been dispatched," it said.

In another update, the Kenya Red Cross revealed four people had been rescued and rushed to the hospital as the responders continued to comb through the rubble.

Building collapses in Bungoma

Similarly, several people were killed and others injured after the building they were in at Kanduyi market collapsed on Friday, May 10.

The building was partially demolished last weekend to pave the way for the Masinde Muliro Stadium expansion ahead of the Madaraka Day fete.

News sources indicated that the casualties were at the scene to collect steel iron and other material, despite warnings from authorities.

The building belongs to the family of former Bungoma governor Wycliffe Wangamati.

Wangamati blamed the current county administration for supposed negligence.

He claimed the county had defied a court order stopping the demolition.

Preceding the Bungoma incident was another one in Nairobi's Uthiru area, where a residential apartment collapsed.

5-storey building collapses in Nairobi

The Kenya Red Cross confirmed that no one died inside the rubble of a collapsed residential apartment in Nairobi.

The five-storey building, labelled Epsom View Apartments, came down on the evening of Tuesday, May 7.

The Kenya Red Cross sent its teams to the scene for a rescue mission.

In their update, the Nairobi City county disaster management personnel confirmed all the tenants of the building were safe and out of the scene.

They are said to have jumped after noting the building was slowly sinking.

Ten people sustained minor injuries and were treated by paramedics from the Kenya Red Cross.

Of great concern was a minor among the four people initially reported missing; the authorities confirmed she was safe with the others.

The national government has been advancing calls for people to move to safer grounds in the face of the ongoing devastating floods.

Forcible evacuations have been undertaken in shanty towns within Nairobi, including Mukuru Kwa Ruben and Mathare.

Proofreading by Nyambura Guthua, journalist and copy editor at TUKO.co.ke