Eastleigh Building Collapse: Red Cross seeks to trace 31 missing people

Families are still searching for answers after 31 people were reported missing following the collapse of an 18-storey building in Nairobi’s Eastleigh area, prompting the Kenya Red Cross to intensify efforts to establish who is still unaccounted for and whether anyone remains trapped beneath the wreckage.

The humanitarian organisation said on Saturday, October 24, 2026, that it was following up on the reports along with families as rescuers continued working at the site on 9th Street. Red Cross disaster officer Benson Ochieng said the reported cases were being checked individually to establish the whereabouts of those believed to be missing.

Ochieng noted that two people had already been reunited with their families, while efforts were ongoing to confirm the status of others listed in the reports.

“As of now, we have 31 cases of missing persons that have already been reported at our desk. We are continuing to get in touch with some of the families to ascertain these 31,” Ochieng said.

The Red Cross said the number of people reported missing could change as more information becomes available, since some of those initially listed may have left the construction site and returned home without their families knowing.

According to Ochieng, some construction workers who had been at the site before or around the time of the collapse had since made their way home. The organisation is therefore seeking to establish their whereabouts before determining how many people are still unaccounted for.

He added that the confusion and trauma surrounding the incident had made it difficult for some workers to provide reliable information, including their telephone contacts, complicating efforts to reach them and verify their status.

“We are still doing contact tracing with our emergency operations centre ... to clear up the missing person cases so that we remain with a few numbers which we can ascertain are within the debris,” he said.

To help establish the whereabouts of the missing, the organisation is using its emergency operations centre and the telephone lines 1199 and 1508 to receive information, follow up on reports and communicate with affected families.

In an update released on Friday, the Red Cross reported that 26 people who had earlier been listed as missing had been traced and accounted for. It also confirmed that two injured people had been taken to Kenyatta National Hospital for treatment.

The organisation has also opened a disaster operations centre to provide counselling and psychosocial support to families affected by the collapse as they await information about their relatives.

The support forms part of the wider emergency response, which involves tracing missing people, assisting affected families and coordinating with other agencies responding to the disaster.

Separately, the Ministry of Health has established a response desk at the collapse site to operate 24 hours a day, coordinate medical assistance and support rescue activities.

Public Health and Professional Standards Principal Secretary Mary Muthoni said the Ministry had activated disaster response procedures and was working with the Nairobi County Government to manage the emergency.

The tracing exercise remains a key part of the response, with the Red Cross seeking to verify the reported cases and establish how many people, if any, may still be beneath the debris as rescue work continues.