Two dead after Gikomba market building collapses days after fire incident

According to preliminary reports, the incident occurred at Block B of the market, a structure that had been weakened after a fire gutted part of the market on Sunday.

Witnesses said a group of young men had reportedly entered the damaged building to collect scrap metal, dismantling sections of the already unstable structure when it suddenly caved in, trapping them beneath the debris.

The Kenya Red Cross said emergency response teams, working alongside the Nairobi City County Fire Brigade and the National Police Service, launched an overnight search and rescue operation immediately after the collapse.

"The overnight search and retrieval operation at Gikomba Market has been successfully concluded through the joint efforts of the Nairobi City County Fire Brigade, Kenya Red Cross first responders and the National Police Service," the Kenya Red Cross said in a statement.

The bodies of the two victims were retrieved from the rubble and taken to the City Mortuary.

Authorities have not yet disclosed the identities of the deceased as investigations into the incident continue.