By Iroyin Yoruba Television
NAIROBI, KENYA — October 25, 2026
Rescue teams in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, have pulled survivors from the rubble of an unfinished multistorey building that collapsed in the Eastleigh district, as emergency workers continue searching for people believed to be trapped beneath the debris.
The building came down on Friday, October 23, along a busy commercial street in Eastleigh, an area known for its dense population, shops and trading activity. The collapse left a large pile of concrete and construction material, complicating efforts to reach anyone who may have survived inside.
By Saturday, rescue teams had pulled at least two people alive from the rubble, according to Kenyan media reports. One survivor was rescued after spending more than a day trapped beneath the debris, while another woman was also brought out alive and taken for medical attention.
The rescues offered hope to families waiting for news of relatives who may have been at the construction site when the building collapsed.
Conflicting figures over missing people
Authorities have faced difficulties establishing how many people were inside the building when it fell.
Kenya’s Interior Minister, Kipchumba Murkomen, initially reported that seven people were missing. However, the Kenya Red Cross said it had received reports concerning 31 people whose whereabouts needed to be verified.
The figures are not directly interchangeable. Some people reported missing may have left the site before the collapse, while others could still be trapped. Emergency agencies have been contacting families and checking available information to establish a more reliable count.
The uncertainty makes it difficult to determine the full human toll of the disaster while rescue operations remain active.
Search teams deploy specialist equipment
Emergency responders have been using excavators, sniffer dogs and thermal sensors to help locate survivors and identify areas where people may be trapped.
The work is dangerous because shifting concrete and unstable sections of the structure could create additional hazards for rescue personnel and anyone still alive beneath the debris. Teams have therefore had to balance the urgency of reaching possible survivors with the need to avoid triggering further collapses.
Authorities have continued bringing in equipment to clear debris and open access points into the wreckage. The rescue operation has also drawn attention from relatives and members of the public hoping for further signs of life.
Officials have not yet announced a final casualty figure or confirmed the total number of people who were inside the building when it collapsed.
Questions over building safety
The disaster has raised fresh concerns about construction oversight and the enforcement of building regulations in Nairobi.
Officials said the building was still under construction. Reporting by Al Jazeera, citing authorities, indicated that the structure did not have an occupation certificate, although its ground floor was in use.
An occupation certificate generally confirms that a building has met the relevant requirements to be occupied. The reported absence of such certification has intensified questions about how the property was being used and whether regulatory safeguards were followed.
However, the absence of a certificate alone does not establish the precise cause of the collapse. Investigators will need to examine the building’s design, construction methods, materials, approvals and compliance with applicable standards before determining responsibility.
Government spokesman Charles Owino said the building’s registered owner had died, leaving questions about responsibility for the property and its development to be addressed by the relevant authorities.
Nearby businesses remained closed as people assessed the impact of the collapse and emergency teams worked in the area.
A wider challenge for urban construction
Nairobi’s rapid growth has increased demand for residential and commercial buildings. That growth makes effective planning, inspection and enforcement important to protecting construction workers, residents, traders and passers-by.
A collapse in a busy commercial district can have consequences beyond the building itself. It can disrupt businesses, damage neighbouring property and place pressure on emergency services.
The investigation will need to establish whether construction standards were breached and whether any failures in inspection or enforcement contributed to the incident. Any conclusions about negligence or criminal responsibility should follow the evidence gathered by the authorities.
For families waiting for missing relatives, the immediate priority remains the search and the provision of medical assistance to survivors. For the government, the disaster presents a pressing test of its ability to enforce building rules and prevent similar incidents.
The search is continuing, and the full scale of the disaster remains uncertain. Authorities are expected to provide further information as rescue operations progress and the identities and whereabouts of those affected are established.