Rescue workers have recovered the body of a woman from the rubble of a collapsed building in Nairobi’s Eastleigh neighbourhood, as search operations entered their eighth day amid concerns that more people may still be trapped beneath the debris.
The recovery came during an ongoing operation launched after the 16-storey building on 9th Street collapsed on Friday, October 23.
Emergency teams have since been working to clear the wreckage and reach the lower sections of the structure, where additional victims are feared to be buried.
Rescue officials said nearly 80 per cent of the debris had been cleared, allowing teams to intensify efforts to access the deeper sections of the building, including its underground basement.
However, the operation has faced several challenges as workers continue removing heavy rubble while searching for signs of anyone who may remain trapped.
Authorities said on Thursday that 16 people were still missing, according to information compiled through a joint exercise involving the Kenya Red Cross and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).
Simon Osumba, the Nairobi North Regional Commissioner, said mobile phone data indicated that nine of the missing individuals had been in the vicinity of the building shortly before it collapsed.
Officials were continuing to examine information relating to four other people, while three families had yet to provide phone numbers needed to help trace their relatives.
The identification process is part of efforts to establish how many people were inside or near the building when it came down.
Authorities are relying on information from families, mobile phone records and other available evidence to narrow down the list of those potentially affected.
Earlier, hopes of finding survivors had risen after specialised equipment was brought to the scene to help rescue teams detect possible signs of life beneath the rubble.
The technology was expected to assist workers in identifying areas where people might still be trapped, although the recovery of the woman’s body has added to concerns over the fate of those who remain unaccounted for.
The search is continuing as emergency personnel work to reach the deepest parts of the collapsed structure and establish whether anyone else remains beneath the debris.