Many feared trapped after Kenya building collapse

Rescue teams are digging through tonnes of concrete and twisted metal in Nairobi, searching for survivors after a multi-storey building collapsed with many people feared trapped beneath the wreckage.

The building came down on Friday in a densely populated business and residential area of the Kenyan capital, according to the Al Jazeera report. Images from the scene showed the structure's floors pancaked on top of one another, with rescue workers in yellow hard hats and uniformed personnel climbing over the rubble.

Amid the rescue operation, police fired tear gas to disperse looters who targeted nearby shops in the chaos that followed the collapse.

Residents and onlookers crowded around the cordoned-off scene as the search for signs of life continued. The cause of the collapse was not immediately clear, and authorities had not yet said how many people were inside the building when it fell.

Rescue efforts were still under way as operations continued through the day, with the number of people unaccounted for still unknown.