Five dead, 24 injured as building collapses in Egypt’s capital

Gulf Today Report

A nine-story apartment building collapsed in the Egyptian capital early Saturday, killing five people and 24 were wounded on Saturday, local authorities said.

"The governorate's crisis room was informed at 3:00 am (0100 GMT) of the collapse of a building consisting of a basement, a ground floor and nine (upper) floors," the Cairo governorate said in a statement, according to AFP.

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Rescue workers were searching for any survivors trapped under the rubble of the building in the el-Salam neighbourhood, said Khalid Abdel-Al, the administrative head of Cairo governorate, an official said.

It said that five people were confirmed dead and 24 wounded in the collapse in the Gesr Suez district near Heliopolis in the east of the city.

People inspect the area where a building was collapsed in Gesr al-Suez, Cairo, Egypt on Saturday. Reuters

"Khaled Abdel Aal, the governor, immediately went to the site of the incident accompanied by civil protection forces," the statement added.

He ordered the "establishment of an engineering committee" to inspect surrounding buildings and evaluate the impact.

Egypt has suffered several deadly building collapses in recent years, due to the dilapidation of many premises and poor adherence to planning regulations.

With real estate at a premium in big cities like Cairo and the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, developers seeking bigger profits frequently violate building permits. Extra floors often are added without proper government permits.