Egypt: 8 die after 10-storey building collapses

Dubai: At least eight people died in Egypt and 24 others were injured when a 10-storey building collapsed early Saturday in Cairo’s working-class district of Gesr El Suez, local media reported.

With search still underway for more bodies under the rubble, a family of five was found alive and rescue teams managed to pull them out from under the rubble.

The prosecution is investigating the incident through a technical committee tasked with determining the reason behind the collapse.

Cairo governorate said the 10-storey building, located near Omar bin Al Khattab metro station, collapsed at 3am.

The injured were taken to two hospitals in Cairo.

The governorate said it has formed a technical committee to inspect nearby buildings to determine if they were affected by the collapse.

Incidents of building collapses are not uncommon in Egypt and are usually attributed to violations of building regulations, illegal building extensions, and lax government oversight.

However, Egypt has pledged the adoption of “resolute” measures to stop building violations, especially in agricultural lands nationwide.

It has asked citizens to reconcile over building violations, the latest set to expire at the end of this month after several delays which saw the state receiving over two million reconciliation requests and collecting more than 16 billion Egptian pounds in reconciliation fees.

The country has seen a significant rise in illegal construction since the security vacuum that followed the 2011 uprising, with many people constructing multi-storey buildings without acquiring the necessary permits or complying with engineering safety standards.