22 Rescued as Kericho Building Crashes Down

Twenty-two people were pulled alive from the wreckage of a collapsed building in Kericho County on Wednesday evening, in a dramatic rescue that saw emergency teams race against time to save those trapped beneath the debris.

Four of the survivors remain in critical condition, according to the Kenya Red Cross, while the majority escaped with minor injuries in what witnesses described as a chaotic and terrifying scene.

The building came down in the Kaptebeswet Bypass area just as dusk set in, sending residents and passersby into panic.

Within minutes, cries for help pierced through the dust and twisted metal, drawing crowds as first responders rushed to the site.

Rescue teams worked under pressure, clawing through rubble in search of survivors.

Seventeen people were treated for minor injuries at the scene, some shaken, others nursing cuts and bruises, while four victims were hurriedly evacuated to hospital in critical condition.

“Twenty-two people have been rescued following the building collapse in the Kaptebeswet Bypass area,” the Red Cross said in a statement, underscoring both the scale of the incident and the urgency of the response.

The operation brought together multiple agencies, including the Kenya Police Service, the county fire brigade, ambulance crews, and officials from the National Government Administrative Officers. Together, they worked late into the night, determined to account for everyone believed to have been inside the structure.

For families gathered at the scene, each rescue brought a moment of relief, tempered by the lingering fear that others might still be trapped.

Authorities had initially warned that several people could be buried under the debris, prompting the large-scale response.

By nightfall, search efforts were still ongoing, illuminated by floodlights and driven by hope.

The cause of the collapse remains unknown.

The tragedy in Kericho comes barely two days after a similar disaster in Nairobi’s Shauri Moyo area, where a collapsing structure claimed four lives.

That building, officials said, had been undergoing partial demolition when it gave way.

As investigations begin, the back-to-back incidents raise fresh concerns about building safety, and leave behind stories of survival, loss, and communities shaken but standing together in the face of disaster.