Three still missing as rescue teams call off Eastleigh collapsed building search

NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 6-Rescue operations at the collapsed building in Nairobi’s Eastleigh area have been called off after 15 days, with three people still missing despite multi-agency teams completing searches of all basement sections.

The operation recovered eight bodies — six women and two men — from the debris, but authorities said they had been unable to locate the remaining three people initially reported missing.

Teams from the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF), National Youth Service (NYS), National Disaster Management Unit, National Disaster Operations Centre, Nairobi City County Government and Kenya Red Cross announced the decision to end the search after completing the search of the building’s basement compartments.

The officials said the operation had been particularly challenging because the 18-storey building was the tallest structure to have collapsed in the country, while the confined working space and presence of neighbouring residential communities complicated rescue efforts.

“Today we are calling off the exercise after having managed to reach all the basements of the building which collapsed,” Nairobi North County Commissioner Simon Osumba said.

The eight recovered bodies have been taken to the City Mortuary, where they are being preserved as families await DNA analysis to establish their identities before they can be released for burial.

Authorities said some of the bodies were decomposed, making DNA sampling necessary before identification and handover to relatives.

Nairobi City County has committed to supporting the affected families with burial arrangements, including mortuary-related costs and transport, as they prepare to lay their loved ones to rest.

Kenya Red Cross has also established a support centre at the mortuary to assist families through the identification and post-recovery procedures.

The three people who remain missing will now be treated as missing-person cases, with the police expected to take over investigations and continue engaging their families.

Authorities urged relatives who still have missing family members to report the cases at police stations across the Nairobi region to facilitate follow-up.

The rescue teams said families had also been taken to the site to witness the areas that had been searched and receive assurance that all accessible sections had been covered.

With the rescue operation closed, attention will now shift to securing the site, assessing the surrounding buildings and allowing businesses and motorists to resume normal activities.

Police will maintain a cordon around the collapsed structure in coordination with the property owner to prevent access to potentially dangerous sections of the site.

Officials warned that debris, including exposed steel and other unstable materials, still posed risks to members of the public and urged residents and curious onlookers to keep away.

The authorities also recommended fresh structural inspections of buildings in the surrounding area to establish whether they have been compromised and require remedial works.

The roads that had been partially blocked during the operation are expected to be reopened once the area is made safe, allowing businesses that had shut down during the rescue exercise to resume operations.

Despite the end of the search, authorities said engagement with affected families would continue as DNA identification and police follow-up proceed.

​Bruhan Makong is a Senior News Reporter for Capital FM in Nairobi, covering diplomacy, foreign policy, national security, climate, and human rights across East Africa and the wider region.