Falling stone kills casual labourer at Eastleigh construction site

A 42-year-old casual labourer died after being hit by a falling stone at a construction site in Eastleigh, Nairobi.

Police said the man, identified as Vincent Matasio, died on the spot after the stone hit him on the head along Eastleigh Sixth Street on Saturday.

Matasio was part of the workforce responsible for loading stones onto a crane for delivery to the sixth floor when the incident took place.

According to the police and witnesses, one of the stones dropped from a crane, striking Matasio's head, killing him instantly.

Law enforcement officers transported the deceased to the mortuary as they began investigations into the incident which has also roped in authorities from the Nairobi County Government and the National Construction Authority.

The police said construction activities at the site have been halted as they continue with their investigations.

An aerial view of a section of Nairobi's Eastleigh area. (Photo: Abdirahman Khalif)

Police say most of the victims do not have protection gear as required by law.

String of incidents

The death is the latest in a string of unfortunate incidents that have occurred in the city.

At least three other people have died from accidents at construction sites within the Eastleigh area this year alone.

In June, a 36-year-old man identified as Julius Wanyonyi, who had just reported at one of the construction sites in Eastleigh, fell from the third floor of the building and died on the spot.

In May, a building block from an adjacent building under construction in Eastleigh fell and killed a two-year-old boy.

The boy was in his parent's house when the huge block from the unfinished building ripped through the roof of their home, killing him instantly.

In that same month, a construction worker identified as Muthui Mwenda slipped and fell to his death at a construction site in Pangani.