NAIROBI, Kenya — A man trapped beneath the rubble of a collapsed multi-storey building in Nairobi’s Eastleigh area has been rescued and taken to Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH for treatment, the Kenya Red Cross has said.
The rescue followed hours of painstaking work by search and rescue teams working alongside multi-agency partners at the scene of the collapse along Yusuf Haji Avenue.
In an update on Saturday, October 24, the humanitarian organisation said its teams had successfully brought the man out of the debris as the operation entered its second day.
“After hours of painstaking work alongside multi-agency partners, our search and rescue teams in Eastleigh brought a trapped man out of the rubble,” the Kenya Red Cross said.
The rescue offers renewed hope for people still feared trapped beneath the debris as emergency responders continue efforts to reach the lower sections of the building.
The Kenya Red Cross said 66 of the 67 construction workers who had been at the site when the building collapsed had been traced and accounted for.
However, the search remains ongoing for other people who may have been inside or near the building when it came down on Friday afternoon.
The operation involves several emergency response agencies working to clear debris, locate possible survivors and establish the whereabouts of people reported missing.
The collapse has also prompted efforts to verify missing-person reports, as responders work with families to determine who may still be unaccounted for.
In a separate update on Saturday, the Kenya Red Cross said it had received reports of missing people and was contacting families to establish their whereabouts.
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Some of those initially reported missing were later found to have left the construction site before the collapse.
The organisation said its teams remained at the scene alongside multi-agency partners as the search continued.
Red Cross appeals to families
The Kenya Red Cross has urged people searching for missing relatives to visit the tracing desk established at the scene or call its toll-free number, 1199, for assistance.
The tracing desk is intended to help families report missing loved ones and enable responders to verify information as the operation progresses.
Rescue teams are continuing to work at the site as authorities seek to establish whether anyone else remains trapped beneath the rubble.
The cause of the collapse has not been established, and investigations into the incident are ongoing. The disaster has renewed scrutiny of building safety, construction approvals and enforcement in Nairobi.
Emergency agencies have urged the public to allow trained responders to carry out their work as efforts to locate and assist anyone still missing continue.
