Three deaths and destruction as perimeter wall collapses in Riverside

Eleven workers were rescued alive from the rubble and rushed to nearby medical facilities with severe injuries, while 14 others were confirmed safe and stable at the scene. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

Three people have been killed and 11 others injured following the collapse of a perimeter wall at an active construction site in Riverside, Nairobi.

Eleven workers were rescued alive from the rubble and rushed to nearby medical facilities with severe injuries, while 14 others were confirmed safe and stable at the scene.

According to Nairobi County Chief Officer for Disaster Management and Coordination Bramwell Simiyu, search and rescue operations are ongoing, with teams working to establish the whereabouts of the remaining eleven (11) workers listed on the site manifest after the Saturday morning incident.

“The Nairobi City County Government confirms that multi-agency emergency response, search, and rescue teams are actively operating at a construction site in the Riverside area following the collapse of a perimeter wall earlier today,” he said in a statement.

Simiyu said the incident occurred at around 11.30am, with a multi-agency team deployed to the scene to coordinate rescue efforts.

Multi Agency team at the scene of a building that collapsed along Riverside Drive, Nairobi on November 14, 2026. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

Preliminary records indicate that 39 construction workers were at the site when the perimeter wall gave way.

However, search efforts and hospital admission cross-checks are ongoing to establish the status of all workers.

He says that initial site assessments showed that the main building on the property was still at the excavation and foundation stage, with no upper floors erected at the time of the incident.

Once search and rescue operations are concluded, the County Built Environment and Urban Planning Department, together with the National Construction Authority (NCA), will conduct a full structural and regulatory compliance audit of the site.

Disaster Management teams, working alongside national emergency agencies, have cordoned off the area to facilitate uninterrupted rescue operations and ensure public safety.

“Motorists and members of the public are urged to avoid the immediate Riverside vicinity to allow emergency vehicles and heavy rescue machinery unobstructed access,” Simiyu said, adding that further updates will be issued as operations progress.

Multi Agency team at the scene of a building that collapsed along Riverside Drive, Nairobi on November 14, 2026. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

The incident comes barely a day after six people were killed and five others injured when an eight-storey building under construction partially collapsed in Syokimau on Mombasa Road, near the SGR terminus.

The structure reportedly caved in during concreting works on the ninth floor, with police citing a suspected failure of the formwork.

Six workers died, while five others were rescued and taken to hospital.

This also comes weeks after an under-construction 12-storey building collapsed along 9th Street in Nairobi’s Eastleigh area on October 23, killing eight people.

Rescue operations at the site continued for days before the final death toll was established.

The back-to-back incidents have renewed concerns over construction safety, regulatory oversight and enforcement of building standards in the country.

Reports indicate that Kenya has recorded over 20 such incidents across the country by November 13, 2026, resulting in 38 deaths.