First body recovered from Nairobi building collapse as 16 remain missing

A first body was recovered Friday from the rubble of an 18-storey building that collapsed a week ago in Nairobi, as 16 people remain missing.

The body of a woman was found badly crushed beneath concrete and steel at the construction site in Eastleigh, a busy commercial district of the Kenyan capital. Authorities are using thermal imaging cameras to help search the debris.

The building, which was still under construction, collapsed last Friday.

Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja said the building did not have the required construction permits. He also said it was illegal to rent out commercial premises on the ground and basement floors before the building had been inspected and issued with an occupancy certificate.

Families of those still missing have spent the past week at the site, hoping their relatives may still be found alive.

But hopes have faded for some families after the critical 72-hour window following the collapse passed. Relatives said they were increasingly doubtful that their loved ones could survive for more than three days beneath the rubble.

No survivors have been rescued since Saturday. Four people were pulled from the wreckage earlier and later described the hours they spent trapped beneath the collapsed structure.

Earlier this week, authorities brought in thermal imaging equipment supplied by a Chinese team to assist the search. Officials said the technology had detected two people beneath the rubble.