Search and rescue operations continued on Saturday at the site of the collapsed building in Eastleigh, Nairobi, as the Kenya Red Cross said it had received 31 missing-person reports.
Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja said rescuers were working their way towards the basement from the top of the collapsed structure in an effort to reach those feared trapped.
However, he said communication with people who had been in contact with rescue teams on Friday had since ceased. He expressed hope that their phones had simply gone off.
“We’re asking Kenyans to keep praying for those trapped,” Sakaja said.
An earlier update on Friday indicated that 66 of the 67 construction workers who had been at the site had been accounted for.
The multi-storey building collapsed at around 1pm on Friday along 9th Street while still under construction. Nairobi Regional Police Commander Issa Mohamud said its basement and ground floors were occupied.
Emergency teams from Nairobi City County, the Kenya Defence Forces, the Kenya Red Cross and the National Disaster Operations Centre were among those deployed to the scene.
Heavy machinery was brought in to clear debris and help rescuers access sections where people could be trapped, while county health teams remained on standby to provide medical assistance.
Police also launched a manhunt for the building’s owner. The Red Cross set up a tent at the scene to support the emergency response and assist families searching for their loved ones.
During a visit to the site on Friday, Sakaja called for tougher penalties against developers who violate construction regulations, saying fines as low as Ksh.5,000 were insufficient to deter offenders.
He also renewed his call for county governments to be empowered to prosecute those who breach building regulations.
