Search Under Way for Seven Feared Trapped After Nairobi Building Collapse

A search and rescue effort is under way in Nairobi, Kenya, to find seven people feared trapped under rubble after a building collapsed in the Eastleigh area.

The building collapsed on Friday afternoon, 23 October 2026. It was still under construction and was thought to have been 16 or 18 storeys tall, according to BBC News. Al Jazeera reported that more than 10 upper floors were still being built.

The seven missing people were thought to have been in shops on the lower floors. Officials said 11 shops had already opened at the base of the building. Survivors told Nation Media that they saw cracks and there was panic before the building came down.

Rescue work continued into the night, Nation Media reported. Deutsche Welle said rescue teams had made contact with some of the people reported missing under the rubble.

Kenya's Interior ministry official Kipchumba Murkomen said 66 of the 67 construction workers in the building got out unharmed. One worker suffered injuries that were not life-threatening.

Kenya's National Construction Authority said it had identified the company behind the development, as well as the architect and the structural engineer. Nairobi Governor Sakaja Johnson said the owners of the collapsed building did not have the paperwork required for it to be occupied.