A section of a six-storey mall in Mombasa's Nyali collapsed early yesterday causing immense damage to adjacent properties.
Sections of the mall and adjoining buildings were shut down for fear of more damage. No one was injured.
Reports indicate the part which collapsed was an unauthorised annex that was erected without a proper foundation.
The building was cordoned off to allow for investigations.
At a distance, one could see that debris and part of the annex had not completely gone down with fears that if it is not cleared immediately, it might cause extensive damage.
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Section closed
A section of the mall that housed a night club, banks, restaurants were temporarily closed to allow engineers to conduct investigations.
Architectural Association of Kenya officials, led by the branch chairman Steven Ogwapit, questioned how the annex was constructed saying it was a clear indication that proper supervision was not done when constructing it.
"Part of the building looks structurally sound but we see the section that has collapsed was just an addition and no columns were erected while constructing the building," said Ogwapit.
County Secretary Francis Thoya said an audit of all buildings will be done soon in Mombasa to establish if they were constructed professionally.
