Rescue teams have recovered the first body from the collapsed building along 9th Street in Eastleigh, Nairobi, as DNA identification remains pending and efforts to locate other missing people continue.
The body, identified as that of a woman, was retrieved on Friday, October 30, marking the first recovery of a deceased victim since the multi-storey building came down on October 23.
Kamukunji MP Yusuf Hassan confirmed the development, expressing condolences to the woman's family and calling on disaster management agencies to increase resources at the scene.
In his statement, Hassan urged emergency teams to accelerate the operation, saying relatives of those still missing were anxiously waiting for news. He called on relevant agencies to provide the personnel and equipment needed to reach those remaining beneath the rubble.
The recovery comes as approximately 85 per cent of the debris has been cleared, according to rescue updates, with teams concentrating on the remaining sections of the structure, including areas around the basement.
Despite the progress in debris removal, 16 people remained unaccounted for following a verification exercise involving the Kenya Red Cross and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).
Nairobi North County Commissioner Simon Osumba said mobile phone data had placed nine of the missing individuals at the building shortly before it collapsed. Authorities were still seeking information on four other cases, while three families had yet to submit telephone numbers to assist in tracing their relatives.
The operation has involved specialised equipment, including acoustic life detectors used to identify possible signs of life beneath the debris.
National Disaster Management Unit Director Dr Duncan Ochieng previously confirmed that the equipment had detected indications of life, although reaching the locations remained a major challenge.
Rescuers have been working to access the deeper sections of the collapsed structure, where some of the missing people are believed to have been trapped.
The building, which was still under construction, collapsed at approximately 1pm on October 23, prompting a multi-agency response involving emergency personnel, security agencies, the Kenya Red Cross and Nairobi County teams.
The Director of Public Prosecutions has also directed the DCI to investigate the circumstances surrounding the collapse, including possible omissions or negligence by public officials, developers and construction professionals involved in the project.
For now, the recovery of the woman's body marks a new phase in the operation, with forensic identification and the search for the remaining missing people still outstanding.
