UPDATE Friday, October 23, 6pm: Rescue teams have temporarily suspended debris removal at the Eastleigh building collapse site after people trapped beneath the rubble reportedly warned that the ongoing operations were affecting their oxygen supply.
All excavators have halted as emergency responders consult on how to proceed with the rescue operation without further compromising the air supply to survivors.
Disaster response teams have retreated to consultations to review their approach before resuming the search for those still trapped.
Authorities have launched a manhunt for the owner of the building that collapsed in Eastleigh, Nairobi, on Friday, October 23, as rescue teams continue searching for people feared trapped beneath the rubble.
Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja revealed the building had received an approval certificate from the county government but did not have an occupation certificate, raising questions about how it came to be occupied while construction was still ongoing.
Sakaja also raised concerns over developers who allegedly replace qualified professionals after obtaining county approvals, hiring people whose credentials may be questionable.
“We are appealing to all professionals that once you are given an approval and later fired, you must report to the regulators as well as the county government, because from the look here it appears like there was no professional on site,” Sakaja said.
An oblique view of a building that collapsed along Yusuf Haji Avenue, next to Day to Day Supermarket in Eastleigh, Nairobi, on October 23, 2026.
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Handout
One woman has been rescued from the rubble as emergency teams work to establish how many people remain trapped. Sakaja said rescuers had heard people communicating from inside the collapsed structure and were clearing debris to create space for oxygen to reach them.
A video obtained by Kenyans.co.ke showing the building shortly before it collapsed enabled this publication to count up to 18 floors.
The building stood along Yusuf Haji Avenue, next to Day to Day Supermarket on 9th Street, where businesses and other activities were reportedly taking place on the lower floors despite ongoing construction.
Meanwhile, Nairobi Regional Police Commander Issa Mohamed said authorities would pursue anyone found responsible for the collapse, including those who authorised the construction.
He warned that anyone found culpable of criminal negligence would face the law, adding that the building’s owner had not presented himself to police.
A casual labourer who had been at the site before taking a lunch break told reporters that more than 70 people, including construction workers, food sellers and other service providers, may have been in the basement.
The estimate has not been independently verified, and authorities are yet to establish the total number of people trapped.
The rescue operation has brought together personnel from the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF), General Service Unit (GSU), regular police, the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit, the Bomb Disposal Unit, the National Youth Service, Kenya Red Cross and other specialised emergency teams.
Excavators, breakers and sniffer dogs have also been deployed to help clear debris and locate survivors.
Meanwhile, Nairobi Police leadership has urged residents to leave the area and allow rescuers to continue the search, as Embakasi East MP Babu Owino called for an independent investigation into the building approval system over concerns about alleged corruption, negligence and weak enforcement.
Kenya Red Cross rescue personnel at a building that collapsed along Yusuf Haji Avenue, next to Day to Day Supermarket in Eastleigh, Nairobi, on October 23, 2026.
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KRCS