An eight-storey building that was nearing completion collapsed in Syokimau, Machakos County, on Friday morning, leaving emergency teams racing against time to reach people trapped beneath the wreckage.
The structure came crashing down near the Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) Terminus along Mombasa Road, prompting an urgent response from rescue agencies as efforts to establish the number of people affected got underway.
The Kenya Red Cross confirmed that three people had been retrieved from the debris and rushed to hospital, while another person was reported missing.
"Three people have been rescued and taken to hospital after a building under construction collapsed in Syokimau. Search and rescue operations are ongoing for one person reported missing," the organisation said.
The agency said its emergency response personnel had joined other teams at the site to coordinate rescue efforts and provide assistance to those affected by the incident.
Search operations remained underway, with rescuers working through the collapsed structure in an attempt to locate the missing individual.
The circumstances that led to the collapse had not been established by the time of publication. The number of confirmed fatalities, if any, also remained unknown, while further details on the condition of those rescued were yet to be released.
The incident comes weeks after another building under construction collapsed in Eastleigh, Nairobi, triggering an extensive rescue operation and renewed attention on the safety of buildings under construction.