Freetown, Sierra Leone — A devastating collapse of an unfinished multi-storey building at 87 Blackhall Road, Kissy, opposite the Mende (Mendi) Church, claimed the lives of two children on Wednesday and left a third child fighting for survival in critical condition.
The incident occurred when part of the structure gave way, with eyewitnesses reporting that debris fell onto an area where children were playing.
Local emergency teams responded quickly, but the two young victims were pronounced dead at the scene, while the injured child was rushed to hospital for urgent medical attention.
Residents described the tragedy as heartbreaking, with the community in mourning. The building, which was still under construction, had reportedly been a point of concern in the densely populated Kissy neighbourhood.
This latest incident has once again spotlighted ongoing safety issues with unregulated or poorly supervised construction in parts of Freetown. It comes just months after a major seven-storey building collapse on Shell New Road in September 2024, which killed at least eight to ten people, including several young children, and left others trapped under rubble for days. That disaster prompted calls for stricter enforcement of building regulations by the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Country Planning and the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA).
Authorities have not yet released official statements on the exact cause of Wednesday’s collapse, but preliminary indications point to possible structural weaknesses common in uncompleted buildings rushed without proper engineering oversight or quality materials. No other casualties have been reported so far.
Further updates will be provided as more details emerge from official sources.
