Signs of Life Detected in Collapsed Eastleigh Building

Rescue teams have detected signs of life in the rubble of a collapsed 16-storey building, but efforts to reach possible survivors remain hampered by the nature of the collapse and limited access to the site.

National Disaster Management Director Duncan Onyango said specialised acoustic life detectors had picked up signs of life during the ongoing operation, raising hopes of rescuing people who may still be trapped beneath the debris.

“What I can say is that we used them, yes, we detected life. But as I said, detection can be done, but access may not be possible up to now, based on the type of collapse we are talking about,” Onyango said.

He said the operation was nearly 80 per cent complete, with rescue teams hoping to conclude the exercise by the end of Wednesday or Thursday, depending on the technical challenges encountered.

“As of now, we are at almost 80 per cent of the work, and we should be able to achieve our objective by the end of the day today or even tomorrow, depending on the technicalities that we are going to face as we move forward,” he said.

Onyango said no Kenyans had been rescued or recovered from the rubble since Saturday, despite ongoing efforts to establish whether anyone remained trapped.

He attributed the slow progress to the confined nature of the site, which has restricted the movement of rescue teams and equipment.

The director described the collapse of the 16-storey building as an unprecedented challenge for the country, noting that responders could only access the structure from one side, limiting their ability to manoeuvre around the debris.

The Kenya Red Cross and a Chinese team identified as provided the specialised acoustic life-detection equipment used in the search.

Onyango said the safety of responders remained a priority, warning that detecting a possible survivor would not guarantee a successful rescue if teams could not reach them quickly and safely.

“The safety of the responders is also a priority, because even if you detect a life and you are not able to access this life within the shortest time possible, then still you are not going to rescue the person,” he said.

He added that water that had accumulated in the basement had been addressed by Nairobi Water and the Nairobi Sewerage Company, helping the operation make progress.

Meanwhile, recovery teams have accessed several shops within the building and retrieved items believed to belong to traders operating there.

Onyango said authorities were yet to establish the number of shops from which property had been recovered because some were located in the basement while others were on the ground floor.

He said the recovered items were being registered and taken to the police station before being released to their owners after identification.

Authorities will provide a final account of the recovered property once traders have identified and accounted for their belongings.

Onyango said the operation would continue until teams establish whether anyone remains trapped and recover any victims found in the rubble.