Seven people are still missing as multi-agency search and rescue teams continue looking for any potential survivors of the multi-storey building collapse along 9th Street, Eastleigh, Nairobi.

The missing people were believed to be working in 11 stores on the ground floor or basement of the building when it collapsed on Friday, 23rd October 2026, said Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen. A total of 67 construction workers were on site. 66 of these have been rescued without injury. The seventh was injured and has been taken to hospital.

“Seven people have been reported missing. The rescue team has made contact with some of them, and efforts are underway to rescue those trapped in the rubble,” said Murkomen.

The search and rescue operation has been a joint operation between Kenya Defence Forces, National Police Service, Nairobi City County Government, National Youth Service, Kenya Red Cross and other government agencies.

They have carefully been removing debris in order to reach areas where people could be trapped. Engineers have also been helping assess how it can be accessed to rescue.

This incident has led to concerns over oversight in the construction of the building after Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja stated that it did not have an occupation certificate. This certificate is used to confirm that a building meets certain conditions.

The National Construction Authority has confirmed that the building was registered with them on the 30th July 2025. They have also confirmed that investigations are currently in their initial stages.

So far, the cause of the collapse has not been identified. This will involve looking into the design, materials and methods used in the building by investigators. National and county agencies will be working with relevant professional bodies to understand the situations leading up to the incident, said Murkomen.

“The cause of the collapse will be thoroughly investigated by the relevant national and county government agencies in collaboration with the relevant professional bodies. Those responsible will be held accountable.”

The Kenya Red Cross has asked families to reach out to their tracing teams or call the free emergency number 1199.

As a priority, search teams will look to find the seven missing people. Investigations will also look to identify the cause of collapse and whether any safety standards had been breached.