A building that once housed Club Avenida collapsed during a nighttime demolition exercise along Moi Avenue in Nairobi’s Central Business District, injuring four people and raising concerns about safety at demolition sites.
The incident occurred at around midnight on Saturday, October 17, next to MKU Union Towers, opposite the Mateo Chambers building, where the Magereza DT Sacco headquarters are located.
Early reports indicated that workers were demolishing the structure to make way for a new building when supporting metal beams on the less stable side, near a weakened pavement, were cut, triggering the collapse.
According to witnesses at the scene, about 25 people were inside the building at the time.
Soon after the collapse, police officers and emergency responders arrived at the scene and began rescue operations, amid reports that people could still be trapped beneath the debris.
By around 1am, witnesses said all 25 people had been accounted for, although responders were still searching for a man believed to be trapped.