The death toll from the collapse of an 18-storey building in Eastleigh, Nairobi, has risen to eight after six more bodies were recovered on Thursday, the 14th day of search and recovery operations.
The multi-agency rescue team retrieved the bodies from the basement of the collapsed structure, marking a major milestone in an operation that has entered its final stages.
Nairobi North County Commissioner Simon Osumba confirmed that four of the six bodies recovered on Thursday were women, while two were men.
“We have recovered six more bodies and the total is now eight. We have reached the basement of the building,” Osumba said.
The latest recoveries came as authorities appealed to families still searching for their missing relatives to remain patient, with five people still unaccounted for.
Director of the National Disaster Management Unit (NDMU) Dr Duncan Ochieng said 11 people were initially reported trapped in the building.
“We are still searching for five people whose whereabouts remain unknown, but a total of 11 people were trapped,” Ochieng said.
Osumba said the operation was approximately 95 per cent complete, with rescuers optimistic that the exercise would be concluded by Friday.
“We have already completed 95 per cent of the work. We expect to finish tomorrow. We appeal to the families to remain patient as we search for the five people whose whereabouts are still unknown,” he said.
Ochieng assured families that multi-agency teams would continue working until the search was completed.
The 18-storey building collapsed on October 23, 2026, while under construction, with some of its lower floors reportedly already occupied.
Reaching the basement is expected to allow rescuers to complete the final phase of the recovery operation as they continue searching for the five missing people.
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