Chaos in Westlands as Wall Collapses on Workers
Panic gripped Rhapta Road, Westlands, on Thursday morning after a wall collapsed at a construction site, trapping workers underneath piles of rubble.
The tragic incident occurred at 147 Rhapta Road, where witnesses claim a Chinese construction firm was overseeing the site. Eyewitnesses and insiders revealed a worrying trend of negligence and non-compliance with safety standards.
Videos circulating online show broken concrete slabs and mangled steel rods scattered across the ground. Excavators can be seen digging through the debris as rescue teams race against time.
Missing Signboards and Safety Warnings
Unconfirmed reports claim that there was no signboard indicating the name of the construction firm or safety measures. This has raised alarm among Kenyans, with many questioning how the site was allowed to operate.
Meanwhile, desperate rescue operations continued throughout the day.
“We are doing everything possible to save those trapped. It’s a delicate process,”
— a rescue worker said at the scene.
Onlookers stood by, some with tears in their eyes, as sirens wailed and ambulances waited on standby.
Similar Tragedies on the Rise
This collapse adds to a string of recent construction tragedies in Kenya. In February, a three-storey building collapsed on Third Avenue, Parklands, killing one person.
According to reports, construction had ended for the day, but one worker remained behind to man the CCTV room.
“He was trapped under the debris. A friend came back looking for him and found him dead,”
— a witness recounted.
NCA’s Crackdown on Unsafe Buildings
Following the February tragedy, the National Construction Authority (NCA) launched a campaign to demolish unsafe buildings.
“There is the issue of dangerous buildings, which deals with structural safety. This is a candidate for collapse; it can go down anytime,”
— NCA Executive Director Maurice Akech boldly warned.
“The majority of them have been demolished to restore safety, and the few that have remained are still being pursued so that, at the end of the day, we can restore safety to the environment,”
— he added.
Lives at Stake
As rescue teams continue working into the night, the country watches in fear and frustration. With no official confirmation of casualties yet, the pain lingers.
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Chaos in Westlands as Wall Collapses on Workers
