Sixteen people remain unaccounted for following the Eastleigh building collapse in Nairobi, even as rescue teams recovered two more bodies from the rubble in the early hours of Thursday, November 5.
The latest discoveries have deepened the anguish of families who have spent nearly two weeks waiting for information about relatives believed to have been inside the multi-storey building when it collapsed on October 23.
According to a police incident report from Eastleigh North Police Station, the latest victims were an unidentified adult woman and an adult man.
The first body was recovered at approximately 1:30 am, while the second was retrieved at around 3:30 am.
Both bodies were in an advanced state of decomposition. Crime Scene Investigation personnel processed the scene before the remains were transferred to Nairobi City Mortuary for post-mortem examinations and identification.
The two recoveries bring the total number of bodies retrieved from the site to four, following two earlier recoveries. Four other people have been rescued alive since the disaster.
16 people remain unaccounted for
The latest recoveries come amid growing uncertainty over the fate of people reported missing after the collapse.
The Star reported on Thursday that 16 people remained unaccounted for following a verification exercise involving the Kenya Red Cross and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations.
The missing-persons figure has changed during the operation as authorities and families work to establish who was inside the building when it came down.
On November 2, National Disaster Management Unit Director Duncan Ochieng reportedly said the number of people feared trapped had dropped from 16 to 11 after five individuals previously reported missing were reunited with their families.
Earlier, rescue teams had indicated that at least 10 people were believed to be trapped in the building’s basement, where emergency personnel have faced challenges accessing the lower sections of the wreckage.
The latest recoveries have not yet resolved the uncertainty surrounding those whose whereabouts remain unknown.
Families await answers as bodies remain unidentified
For families gathered near the collapsed structure, every recovery brings hope of finding missing relatives but also the painful possibility of receiving devastating news.
The two bodies recovered on Thursday had not been formally identified by the time they were transferred to Nairobi City Mortuary.
Authorities are expected to use post-mortem examinations and DNA profiling where necessary to establish their identities.
Families who suspect the deceased could be their missing relatives will need to cooperate with the identification process.
The identification exercise is particularly important given the condition of the recovered remains and the number of people still being sought.
Conversn over building safety
The building collapsed on October 23, 2026, at approximately 1:00 pm along 9th Street in Eastleigh.
Nairobi Regional Commander Issa Mohamud previously confirmed that the structure was partially occupied at the time, with tenants residing on the basement and ground floors.
The tragedy has renewed concerns over construction standards, building approvals and the enforcement of safety regulations in Nairobi.
Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has called for amendments to the law to empower county governments to take legal action against developers who violate building regulations.
Sakaja said the county had formally written to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, seeking greater authority to pursue developers who disregard construction standards.
“We have formally written to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, and we hope our request will be considered. Counties must be empowered to take firm action against rogue developers who disregard building regulations and put lives at risk,” Sakaja said.
As the recovery operation enters another day, families are still waiting for answers, with authorities yet to account for everyone reported missing.
