Nairobi, October 28- Search and rescue operations at the site of a collapsed building in Eastleigh, Nairobi, are continuing as families wait anxiously for news of their missing relatives.
According to a report published by the Daily Nation on Tuesday, October 27, authorities were still tracking 20 people believed to have been at the building when it collapsed. Nairobi North Sub-Region County Commissioner Simon Osumba, who is leading the multi-agency rescue operation, said 52 families had initially reported missing relatives, but 32 had since been reunited with their families.
Osumba said authorities were using technology, including phone-signal information, to establish whether the remaining missing individuals were at the scene when the incident occurred.
The rescue operation had briefly been suspended on Monday before resuming later that evening after teams addressed operational challenges.
Six people had been rescued alive since the building collapsed on Friday, with two survivors reportedly pulled from the rubble two days after the incident.
At the scene along 9th Street Avenue, relatives and friends of the missing continued to gather as excavators cleared debris in the hope of finding their loved ones.
Some families expressed frustration over the pace of the rescue operation, calling on the national and county governments to deploy more advanced equipment to speed up the search.
Rescue teams also received assistance from a Chinese construction machinery company whose specialised detection equipment reportedly identified two people believed to be alive beneath the rubble. The information prompted rescuers to focus their efforts on the identified area.
Authorities and humanitarian teams have continued engaging affected families and providing support as the operation proceeds.
The cause of the collapse and questions surrounding the building’s construction and safety remain important issues as investigations into the tragedy continue.
