A building adjacent to the 14-storey building that collapsed in South C, Nairobi, on Friday, January 2 has been identified as a high-risk structure.
Southern Borough Manager Dabasso Wario, in a statement, says that the adjacent building might have suffered potential structural compromise resulting from vibrations and impact caused by the early morning collapse.
Consequently, theodolite and laser equipment have been deployed within the cold zone to continuously monitor the adjacent building for wall tilting, leaning columns, crack widening, floor sagging, vertical and horizontal angular deviations, alignment shifts, tilts, and ground subsidence as rescue operations continue.
Two people, both security guards, are believed to be trapped under the rubble.
According to Wario, the Nairobi City County Government immediately deployed emergency and rescue response teams to the scene after the 4:30 am collapse.
“Emergency response and rescue operations are underway supported by equipment from Nairob City County, one excavator from the National Youth Service (NYS), the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) Disaster Response Battalion, and the Nairobi Fire Brigade, who are jointly managing the operations,” Wario says.
Meanwhile, a command centre has been established, and debris removal is proceeding in parallel with the primary search phase.
“The Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) team remains deployed with specialized tools and equipment to support ongoing search and rescue efforts,” Wario adds. “It is worth noting that the site has been subject to enforcement action by NCCG on varying dates in May, July and December 2025 over a number of infractions.”
Investigations into the cause of the collapse are currently underway.
