Eastleigh collapse: all 67 workers accounted for, up to 11 people still missing

Rescuers were still searching on Friday night for people believed trapped after a multi-storey building under construction collapsed on 9th Street in Eastleigh, Nairobi, at about 1pm on Friday. No deaths had been officially confirmed by 10pm.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen said all 67 construction workers on site had been accounted for, one of them injured. Accounts of his briefing differ on how many people who were in shops on the ground floor and in the basement are still missing: The Eastleigh Voice reported about 11, and People Daily seven. "We are hopeful that they are safe," Murkomen said.

The National Construction Authority said the project was registered with it on 30 July 2025, with 9th Street Plaza Limited listed as the developer and Stromax Holdings E.A Limited as the contractor, The Eastleigh Voice reported. The authority made no finding on what caused the collapse and did not say whether it had inspected the site. Neither company had commented publicly by Friday night.

Governor Johnson Sakaja said the building had county approval but no occupation certificate, so the shops on its lower floors should not have been in use. "From the look here it appears like there was no professional on site," he said.

Police said the owner had not presented himself and that anyone found responsible would be charged after investigations. Murkomen said it was too early to judge the building's condition or the cause of the collapse. Reports of the building's height range from about 10 to 18 floors, and officials have not said how many floors were approved.

Crowds at the scene slowed rescuers earlier in the day, so anyone without a reason to be there is best kept away. Families looking for relatives can contact the Kenya Red Cross on its toll-free line, 1199. StarNews will update this story as officials release more information.