The number of people confirmed dead after the collapse of a multi-storey building in Eastleigh, Nairobi, has risen to four. Search teams recovered two more bodies from the rubble in the early hours of Thursday, November 5, as the rescue operation entered its second week.
According to details from the scene, the latest victims are an adult woman and an adult man. Their bodies were found at about 1:30 am and 3:30 am respectively. By the time of reporting, neither of them had been identified. Rescuers worked through the night in the cold, carefully removing slabs of concrete and twisted metal to reach them.
The building, which was still under construction along 9th Street, came crashing down at about 1 pm on Friday, October 23. Dozens of people were believed to be inside or around the site at the time. Since then, a multi-agency team has been working day and night. It includes the National Disaster Management Unit, the Kenya Red Cross, the National Police Service, Nairobi County officials and the Kenya Defence Forces.
In the first days of the operation, there was some hope. Several people were pulled out alive and rushed to hospital, and by October 30 the number of survivors had reached six. But as days went by, the rescuers started finding bodies instead. The first body, a woman's, was recovered on the eighth day. A second female body followed on November 1 and another on November 3, before the two latest recoveries.
For many families, the wait has been painful. Relatives of missing persons have been visiting the site and the City Mortuary, hoping for news. At one point, about 16 people were reported to be still unaccounted for. Some local leaders have also asked the authorities not to stop until everyone trapped in the rubble, dead or alive, is found.
Officials have said the operation will only be declared complete after all the debris has been cleared and the rescuers are satisfied that no more bodies remain underneath. Heavy machinery, including excavators, has been used to clear the rubble, while sniffer dogs and trained rescuers go through the hard-to-reach areas.
Meanwhile, questions are still being asked about how a building could collapse in such a manner. Reports say a contractor has distanced himself from the project, and an engineer named in the approval documents has also denied involvement in the work. Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has said enforcement action had been taken against the development before it collapsed. The exact cause of the tragedy is yet to be established.
Families of the victims are being asked to be patient as identification is done at the mortuary. More updates are expected as the search continues.
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