Kenya Red Cross said the building, in Nairobi's Pipeline estate, had been vacated minutes before the collapse on Monday night but some people were missing and a search operation had begun.
As daylight came, excavators were sent in to begin removing the debris so a search could be carried out.
Image:The building was evacuated before it collapsedPolice said 121 people had been accounted for, but St John's Ambulance said it understood up to 15 were missing after the building went down.
Pius Masai, deputy head of communications at the National Disaster Management Unit, said: "It is believed that some people may have been trapped. Rescue efforts are ongoing,"
Witness Kamau Mwangi told Kenya's Star newspaper that people were told to leave the building when it showed signs of collapsing.
"But there are some people who sneaked back to collect some of their belongings before the building caved in," he said.
Image:Excavators move into clear the debris"We haven't been able to scrutinise but we believe some people could be trapped."
Joas Nemati, a resident of the building, told the Daily Nation that on Monday workers and the caretaker repaired a massive crack on one of the staircases and assured them it was intact.
But Mr Nemati said that later his wife called him to say they had been ordered to leave immediately as the structure was about to come down.
Image:It is reported cracks were seen in the staircase before the collapseThe Daily Nation reported that a woman and her children had refused to leave their home and are among those unaccounted for.
The East African nation has seen similar tragedies in the past.
A total of 49 people died last year when another building collapsed during heavy night-time rain in Huruma estate, Nairobi.
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