At least one person was injured and two others remain missing after a 16-storey building under construction collapsed early Friday in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital, according to police and the Kenya Red Cross Society.

The incident occurred in the South C residential estate in the southern part of the city, sparking an urgent multi-agency search and rescue operation.

Police said the collapse happened at around 4:00 a.m. local time, when there were reportedly no construction workers at the site. However, authorities believe two security guards who were on duty at the time of the incident may be trapped under the rubble. One man, believed to be a pedestrian passing near the building, was injured and rushed to hospital for treatment.

Langata Sub-County Police Commander Pius Mwanthi confirmed that emergency teams were deployed immediately after the collapse. “We are yet to find the guards who were on duty. There were two guards who could not be accounted for,” Mwanthi said, adding that search and rescue teams were combing through the debris to determine whether additional victims are trapped.

In a statement posted on X, the Kenya Red Cross Society said the area had been cordoned off to allow rescue operations to continue safely. The response involves multiple agencies, including the National Disaster Management Unit, Nairobi City County authorities, the National Police Service, and Red Cross emergency responders.

As of the latest update, heavy machinery and sniffer dogs have been brought in to aid the search, while engineers assess the stability of nearby structures to prevent further risk. Residents in the surrounding area have been advised to keep away from the site as operations continue.

The cause of the collapse has not yet been established. However, Kenyan authorities said investigations are underway to determine whether structural failures, substandard materials, or regulatory violations played a role. In recent years, Kenya has witnessed several deadly building collapses, with experts frequently citing poor enforcement of construction standards, corruption, and inadequate inspections as key contributing factors.

Officials said a full technical and criminal investigation would be launched once rescue efforts are concluded, as the country once again grapples with concerns over construction safety and accountability in the rapidly expanding capital. (ILKHA)