Three people have died and 11 others sustained injuries after a perimeter wall collapsed at a construction site in Riverside, Ngara, Nairobi County, triggering an emergency rescue operation on Saturday, November 14, 2026.
The incident occurred opposite Grand Residence, where construction workers and emergency response teams rushed to the scene to search for people feared trapped beneath the rubble.
The collapse prompted a multi-agency response, with rescue personnel working to establish the whereabouts of all workers who had been at the site when the wall gave way.
Nairobi police boss Issa Mohamud confirmed that three people had died, adding that investigations were underway to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident.
“We have three fatalities and others are injured. We want to know what happened and how,” Mohamud said.
11 workers injured as rescue operation continues
According to information released by Nairobi City County Government, 39 workers were recorded at the construction site when the incident occurred at approximately 11.30am.
Eleven construction workers were rescued alive after sustaining injuries and were taken to nearby medical facilities for treatment.
A further 14 workers had been accounted for and confirmed safe at the scene, while rescue teams were still trying to establish the whereabouts of 11 others.
The authorities continued conducting on-site accountability exercises and checking hospital admission records to determine the status of everyone listed in the site’s workforce records.
Kenya Red Cross also confirmed that its emergency response teams had been deployed to assist those affected.
The humanitarian organisation said two E-Plus ambulances were at the scene to provide emergency medical assistance.
The rescue operation involved Nairobi County disaster management personnel and other national emergency agencies, with the affected area cordoned off to allow emergency teams to work.
Members of the public and motorists were urged to avoid the immediate Riverside area to give rescue vehicles and heavy equipment sufficient access.
County launches investigations into construction site
The circumstances that led to the collapse remained under investigation, with authorities seeking to establish whether construction safety requirements had been followed.
Preliminary assessments indicated that the main building was still at the excavation and foundation stage, with no upper floors having been erected when the perimeter wall collapsed.
Nairobi County Chief Officer for Disaster Management and Coordination Bramwell Simiyu confirmed that rescue operations were ongoing.
The county government said its Department of Built Environment and Urban Planning would work alongside the National Construction Authority (NCA) to conduct a comprehensive structural and regulatory compliance audit after the rescue operation.
The assessment is expected to examine the construction site and establish whether the relevant building and safety requirements were observed.
Police officers were also at the scene to coordinate the response and investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident.
The findings could help determine whether any safety failures or breaches of construction regulations contributed to the collapse.
Ngara incident follows deadly Syokimau building collapse
The Riverside incident occurred barely a day after another building under construction partially collapsed near the Standard Gauge Railway terminus in Syokimau, Nairobi County.
The Friday, November 13, disaster claimed the lives of six construction workers and left five others injured.
Police said the collapse happened during concreting works on the ninth floor after a reported failure of the formwork, causing part of the structure to give way.
Emergency teams retrieved six bodies from the debris, while five injured workers were rescued and taken to hospital.
Authorities later confirmed that all 405 workers recorded at the Syokimau construction site had been accounted for.
The site was subsequently closed and secured as relevant agencies began structural assessments and investigations to establish what caused the collapse.
The two incidents within a period of less than 24 hours have renewed concerns about safety standards at construction sites in Nairobi and surrounding areas.
Eastleigh tragedy raises further concerns over building safety
The latest incidents also come weeks after a multi-storey building collapsed along 9th Street in Eastleigh, Nairobi, on October 23, 2026.
The disaster killed eight people after rescue teams recovered additional bodies from the rubble during an operation that lasted several days.
The building was still under construction when it collapsed, trapping people beneath tonnes of concrete and debris.
The Eastleigh tragedy triggered scrutiny of construction approvals, regulatory enforcement and the responsibilities of developers and public officials.
Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja said the structure had not received the required construction approval and that the occupation of its completed floors was illegal.
Investigators subsequently questioned the developer as authorities examined possible failures in the planning, approval and supervision of the project.
The repeated incidents have intensified calls for stronger enforcement of construction regulations and more effective inspections of buildings under development.
For now, attention remains focused on the Riverside rescue operation, with authorities working to account for all the workers who were at the site.
The full circumstances surrounding the wall collapse, including whether construction or safety failures contributed to the incident, are expected to become clearer as investigations continue.
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