Three bodies were recovered from the debris of a collapsed building in Kenya’s capital on Thursday morning, two weeks after the deadly incident, bringing the confirmed death toll to five. Police stated that recovery operations are nearing completion.
Sixteen people are still believed to be missing following the collapse of the 18-story building on October 23. Four individuals were rescued alive from the structure, which fell along a busy commercial street in Nairobi while its upper floors were still under construction.
The ground and basement floors of the building had been leased to various businesses, including an electronics shop, a grocery store, a textile shop, and a butchery.
Nairobi County Governor Johnson Sakaja announced that the building had not received approval for construction and that the leasing of its completed floors was also illegal. He attributed the incident to weak enforcement of construction regulations and minimal penalties for developers who disregard building laws in the capital. The developer has been questioned by investigators, but no arrests have been made.
Kenya has experienced 98 building collapses in the past five years, resulting in 104 deaths and 80 injuries, according to government data. The country is currently co-hosting the International Conference on Strengthening Search and Rescue Services in Africa with the United Nations and the Russian government. The conference aims to discuss innovations that could save lives during building collapses and enhance emergency response capabilities across African nations.
Three days after the Nairobi building collapsed, a Chinese company introduced thermal imaging technology at the site, which detected two people trapped beneath the rubble.