Eastleigh building collapse: 16 people still missing as rescue efforts stall

Nearly a week after the Eastleigh building collapse, 16 people remain missing, with phone data placing nine at the site.

Families are growing frustrated as rescuers struggle to reach two people detected by Chinese experts using thermal imaging more than 24 hours ago.

Meanwhile, detectives have questioned one of the building’s three developers and officials from Nairobi County, the National Building Inspectorate and the National Construction Authority (NCA) over the project’s approval and construction.

For six agonising days, Ronald Mutua has known no home but Eastleigh’s Ninth Street. Jacket draped over his arm, he keeps vigil outside the collapsed building where his wife and cousin worked, clinging to hope for news of their fate.

Relatives stop by, desperate for updates, but Mutua has little to tell them. For four days, rescuers have made no breakthrough in reaching his loved ones, leaving the family trapped in a painful wait between hope and despair.

Mutua’s brother Paul Muimi opines: "How long are we going to wait? Mbona kuna machine kama mbili pekee yake inafanya hii kazi na hii Kenya kuna machine mingi sana? Ingekuwa maandamano tungekuwa tumeletewa machine zote hapa, kwa nini wasiletee machine zote wafanye hii shughuli iwe rahisi?”

With every passing hour, hope is slipping away. Desperate for answers, families are pleading for more resources and urgent efforts to reach sections where rescuers detected signs of life, before time runs out.

"So far, hakuna mafanikio, hakuna matunda…mimi imefika mahali nimelose hope,” added Muimi.

The National Disaster Management Unit (NDMU), which is leading the rescue operation, has offered a glimmer of hope, confirming that thermal imaging equipment operated by Chinese experts detected signs of life beneath the rubble.

NDMU Director Dr. Duncan Ochieng said: "We have again used the specialised acoustic life detectors and still there is indication of life, we are making progress to be able reach those who are still trapped.”

Nairobi North County Commissioner Simon Osumba said: "Watu tisa tunaamini kuwa kulingana na ile data ya Safaricom signals zinaonyesha hapa ndio ilikuwa mara ya mwisho kuwasiliana na jamaa zao, kuna wengine wanne tunasubiri majibu, kuna watatu ambao bado hawajatupatia number za simu…”

Rescue teams say they have cleared 80 per cent of the debris, reaching the ground floor and basement where several shops stood.

Some belongings have been recovered, but several shop occupants remain missing.

Yassin Munyanya, Treasurer, Architectural Association of Kenya, said: "From the first instance, there is no copy of the structural drawings, the columns is a sign of a structural failure.”

Meanwhile, detectives probing the collapse have questioned one of the building’s three developers and officials from Nairobi County, the National Building Inspectorate and the National Construction Authority. More people are expected to record statements as investigations continue.

Rescue teams have also raised alarm over attacks on truck drivers ferrying debris from the site, warning that the incidents are disrupting operations and slowing the clearance of rubble.