Woman's body recovered from collapsed Nairobi building as 16 remain missing

Rescue workers in Kenya's capital Nairobi recovered a woman's body Friday from the rubble of a collapsed 16-story building, as emergency teams continued searching for 16 people still missing eight days after the disaster.

Nairobi North County Commissioner Simon Osumba confirmed the recovery, saying the woman had been crushed beneath a concrete wall.

"We recovered the body of a woman who had been crushed by a collapsing wall, leaving her body split in two. We are saddened to report this loss of life, but we are not giving up," Osumba told reporters at the scene.

He said her remains had been transferred to Nairobi City Mortuary.

The building, still under construction, collapsed Oct. 23 in the densely populated Eastleigh neighborhood, trapping people beneath concrete and steel.

Businesses had already begun operating from ground-floor shops, exposing workers and customers to the collapse during a busy Friday.

Authorities said rescue teams had cleared approximately 85% of the debris, while six people had been pulled out alive over the past five days.

Osumba said a joint verification exercise by the Kenya Red Cross and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations had confirmed the number of people still unaccounted for.

National Disaster Management Unit Director Duncan Ochieng said emergency personnel were focusing on sections of the wreckage where possible signs of life had been detected.

Rescuers continued working through unstable concrete slabs and twisted metal to reach those believed to be trapped.

The disaster has renewed concerns about construction safety and enforcement of building regulations in Nairobi, where rapid urban development has increased pressure on oversight authorities.