At least nine people were killed in the Egyptian capital city of Cairo, on Monday (July 17) after a five-storey apartment building collapsed, reported the state media citing local officials, as search and rescue operations continued.
What do we know so far?
The building was said to be located in the Hadayek el Kobba neighbourhood around 3.2 kilometres north of central Cairo which was in a densely built area of informal housing.
The state-run MENA news agency reported that search and rescue teams have recovered at least nine bodies from the rubble.
Additionally, four survivors were taken to the hospital, said the news agency but their condition was not immediately known. MENA also reported that the local authorities evacuated a neighbouring apartment building.
Local media reports said that the police have since cordoned off the area while rescue teams were seen looking for possible survivors.
Egypt’s Ministry of Social Solidarity, on Monday, announced that it will give $1,940 (60,000 Egyptian pounds) to the families of the nine victims. The ministry also said that it would deliver aid to the injured and was monitoring the damage to nearby properties due to the collapse of the building.
What caused the collapse?
After the initial inspection, Cairo’s deputy governor, Hossam Fawzi, said that the building collapse was caused due to the removal of a number of walls by one of the ground floor residents, during earlier maintenance work, reported the Associated Press. He added that the man has since been detained and will be investigated.
Building collapses are common in Egypt
The recent incident also comes a day after four people lost their lives and 13 others were injured after another building collapsed in northern Egypt. According to reports, building collapses are quite common in Egypt due to poor construction standards and lack of maintenance in many areas.
While the government has recently sought to crack down on illegal buildings after years of lax enforcement, they are also reportedly in the midst of building new cities and neighbourhoods to rehouse those living in at-risk areas.
It is also noted that developers seeking bigger profits frequently violate building permits especially in prime locations and big cities like Cairo and the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria.
Last month, at least 10 people were killed after a 13-storey building collapsed in Alexandria.
(With inputs from agencies)
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