- The multi-storey building, which was still under construction, collapsed at around 1pm on Friday. Its basement and ground floors were occupied.
Search and rescue operations continued on Saturday at the site of a collapsed building on 9th Street in Eastleigh, Nairobi, with seven people reported missing as of Friday.
An update on Friday indicated that 66 of the 67 construction workers who had been at the site had been accounted for. Emergency teams continued searching the rubble for those feared trapped.
The multi-storey building, which was still under construction, collapsed at around 1pm on Friday. Its basement and ground floors were occupied, Nairobi Regional Police Commander Issa Mohamud said.
The rescue operation brought together Nairobi City County emergency teams, the Kenya Defence Forces, the Kenya Red Cross and the National Disaster Operations Centre, among other agencies.
Heavy machinery was deployed to clear debris and help rescuers reach people potentially trapped beneath the collapsed structure, while county health teams were placed on standby to provide treatment.
Police have also launched a manhunt for the building’s owner, according to Mohamud. The Kenya Red Cross set up a tent at the scene to assist families searching for their loved ones.
Visiting the site on Friday, Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja called for tougher penalties against developers who flout construction regulations.
He said some offenders face fines as low as Ksh.5,000, arguing that the penalties were insufficient to deter violations. Sakaja also renewed his push for county governments to be given powers to prosecute those who breach building regulations.
