At least three people have died in Kenya's capital, Nairobi -- after a residential building collapsed from heavy rains on Friday.

At the start of the rescue, volunteers used their bare hands to unearth people trapped under the rubble. The military has since brought in cranes and cutting equipment to wrest people from the debris.

According to reports, around 60 people have been rescued so far. Emergency workers are in contact with several people still trapped inside.

Red Cross official: Rescue efforts intensified

"Immediately after we received information of the incident we rushed to this location, and of course as normal we found a lot of community members who are volunteering to support those who are trapped. And of course there was a lot of disorganisation and the place is chaotic, but we managed to start, at least initiating the incident command system, so that the various technical teams could start their initial search and rescue and any other help to those who have been affected," said Venant Ndigila, from Kenyan Red Cross.