Families still hopeful as Eastleigh rescue operation enters day 10

By  Kevin Cheruiyot

Correspondent

What you need to know:

• The rescue team has been working round the clock at the site where 16 people are reported to have been trapped when the building collapsed.
• Kamukunji MP Yusuf Hassan blamed the government for not doing enough to ensure that the operation is concluded within the shortest time.

Rescue and recovery operations at the site of the collapsed building in Eastleigh, Nairobi entered the 10th day on Sunday.

The rescue team has been working day and night, sifting through the rubble where 16 people are reported to have been trapped when the multi-storey building collapsed on October 23 2026.

According to Dr Duncan Ochieng, the Assistant Inspector General of Police and current Director of the National Disaster Management Unit, many factors have hindered the operation's progress. 

He said the team has had to reconsider its approach in order to clear the rubble and debris from the scene without endangering the people said to be trapped.

In an interview with the Daily Nation, Dr Ochieng said while the team is still trying to reach ground zero, the small size of the operating area has presented them with a significant challenge.

“We are still going on despite facing many challenges including maneuverability. The area is so confined and we may even not deploy all the four excavators at the same time because the area is too tight for us,” Dr Ochieng said.

He said only three escalators are working within the confined space while the other one has been withdrawn.

Dr Ochieng said the number of people who are still missing remains 16 despite the recovery of a dismembered body of a woman on Friday.

Meanwhile, the families and friends of the missing persons are still camping in tents, hoping that every moment the excavators will get closer to the basement where the missing people are believed to be trapped.

For Judith Cherubet, the sister to Rosemary Chepkoech who was working in one of the shops in the collapsed building, a reported phone call from one of the trapped people has revived their hopes.

“The lady who is inside called one of us yesterday. Although she could not speak, from the background noises we could hear the movement of excavators. That is why you are seeing some of us smiling today. The team has been doing good job and we are hoping to find our loved ones alive,” Ms Cherubet said.

However, Dr Ochieng could neither confirm nor deny the said phone call from the basement.

“I cannot ascertain that unless the DCIO gives us the contact and maybe zero in whether the phone was ringing from that place or somewhere else.”

Officials from a Chinese firm, Xuzhou Construction Machinery Group (XCMG), said one of their equipment traced two people trapped in the rubble who were still alive, prompting the rescue team to concentrate on the said location.

However, Kamukunji Member of Parliament Yusuf Hassan blamed the government for not doing enough to ensure that the operation is concluded within the shortest time.

“The situation is growing sad and tragic. The operation has gone on for too long. We are praying for a miracle but as far as rescue is concerned, it has been very slow and we are running out of time,” Mr Yusuf told journalists on Sunday.

The MP urged the concerned authorities to review the situation and ensure that the people who are still trapped in the rubble as well as bodies are recovered.

This comes as the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) continues to probe the circumstances which led the collapse of the building in line with the directives from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP).

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