Scores of people are feared trapped under rubble following collapse of a six-storey building in the Kenyan capital Nairobi.

Images shared online of the Friday morning incident at Tassia estate in Embakasi showed people sorting through the debris.

So far, at least 17 people have been rescued and taken to nearby hospitals by responders from City Hall and the Kenya Red Cross Society.

Residents and rescuers at the scene of the collapse of a building at Tassia estate in Embakasi, Nairobi County, on December 6, 2019. PHOTO | OUMA WANZALA | NATION MEDIA GROUP

Residents, rescuers and police at the scene of the collapse of a building at Tassia estate in Embakasi, Nairobi County, on December 6, 2019. PHOTO | OUMA WANZALA | NATION MEDIA GROUP

HEAVY RAINS

The cause of the collapse was not immediately established but heavy rains have been pounding Nairobi and other parts of the country.

The meteorological department said the rains will persist until the end of December, with intermittent episodes of heavy and light rainfall up to the fourth week of the month.

The department urged the public to be on the lookout for landslides and overflowing river banks.

An ambulance in pictured at Tassia estate in Embakasi, Nairobi County, following the collapse of a storey building on December 6, 2019. PHOTO | OUMA WANZALA | NATION MEDIA GROUP

Tassia estate in Embakasi, Nairobi County, where a story building collapse on December 6, 2019. PHOTO | OUMA WANZALA | NATION MEDIA GROUP

BAD HISTORY

Many buildings have collapsed in Nairobi and other parts of the country in the past, raising concerns about the quality of construction.

In Nairobi, such incidents have taken place in parts including Zimmerman, Roysambu, South B, Huruma and Kaloleni.

In 2016, President Uhuru Kenyatta ordered an audit that covered most parts Nairobi suburbs.

The report concluded that buildings collapse because of poor quality of concrete, lack of proper foundation and use of substandard building stones.

Search and rescue operations following collapse of a six storey building at Tassia estate in Embakasi, Nairobi County, on December 6, 2019. PHOTO | BRIAN OKINDA | NATION MEDIA GROUP

Search and rescue operations following collapse of a six storey building at Tassia estate in Embakasi, Nairobi County, on December 6, 2019. PHOTO | BRIAN OKINDA | NATION MEDIA GROUP