Rescuers dig through Eastleigh rubble as Nairobi governor says collapsed tower lacked approval

Rescue teams were still working through the rubble of a collapsed high-rise in Nairobi’s Eastleigh district on Saturday, a day after the building came down with workers inside and set off scenes of looting that police broke up with tear gas.

The building, which was under construction but already had businesses on its ground floor, fell at about 1:40 pm on Friday, according to the Kenya Red Cross. Reports put its height at anywhere from 12 to 18 storeys. Police Inspector General Douglas Kanja confirmed one person had been rescued, a woman who was taken to hospital. Officials have not given a death toll or said how many people may be trapped.

One worker said about 70 people had been on site and that he feared some were in the basement when it collapsed. Senator Edwin Sifuna said the Red Cross was in contact with some of those trapped. Soldiers of the Kenya Defence Forces, the National Disaster Operations Centre, the Red Cross and National Youth Service officers are at the scene with excavators, breakers and sniffer dogs.

Crowds of onlookers and looters gathered quickly in the densely packed business district, and police fired tear gas to clear a path for emergency vehicles. Witnesses said stones were thrown at ambulances before rescuers arrived.

Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja said the building did not have an occupation certificate and promised legal action against its owner. He said fines for such breaches “can be as low as Sh5,000”, which he called “too weak to deter developers”. Wiper party leader Kalonzo Musyoka demanded that everyone who approved, inspected or built the structure be held to account.

Nairobi is in the middle of a construction boom, and an audit last year found 87% of buildings checked nationwide failed to meet standards or lacked approvals. In April 2016, 49 people died when a building collapsed after heavy rain in the city’s north-east.