Ten days after Nairobi tower collapse, rescuers dig the last rubble with 11 still missing

Two more excavators reached the Ninth Street site over the weekend, and three machines were working the pile with Kenya Defence Forces and National Youth Service crews at the controls, according to Citizen Digital. Officials told families waiting at the site that the search could end within a day, though the station said it might run longer.

The count has changed since last week. The Associated Press put the number of missing at 16 on October 30, when rescuers recovered the first body, that of a woman. Citizen now puts it at 11. Four people earlier listed as missing are back with their relatives, the Kenya Red Cross told the station. AP reported that rescuers pulled four people out alive by October 24, and officials said heat-sensing equipment brought by a Chinese team detected two people under the debris earlier last week. Detectives are working to locate the phone of a missing woman, which reportedly rang through on Saturday.

Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has said the tower lacked construction approvals. Finished shops on its ground and basement floors had already been rented out, which he called illegal because the rules require an inspection and an occupation certificate before a building is occupied, AP reported.

Kamukunji MP Yusuf Hassan told Citizen the operation has gone on far too long and points to a serious problem that will have to be examined and investigated. Traders near the cordon say their shops have been closed for ten days at the end of the month, with rent and wages coming due.