Cairo: The death toll from the destructive rockslide that hit Cairo on Saturday rose to 47, officials said on Monday.
Egypt's state news agency quoted the country's Health Ministry as saying a total of 47 bodies have been recovered from the site of the shanty town buried under the rock slide.
Another 57 have been confirmed injured, with 21 still in hospitals.
Hopes have fallen of finding any more survivors among the hundreds of people still believed trapped beneath the massive boulders that destroyed the poor neighbourhood.
People in the poor area of Al Deweiqa, jolted by a deadly landslide, on Sunday clung to faint hopes that their loved ones, trapped under boulders, will be pulled out alive.
Earlier, the death toll from the rockslide stood at 31, according to the official Middle East News Agency. Distraught relatives believe that the toll will surge as rescue teams struggle to remove the huge rocks.
"The army should have intervened earlier in order to help in the rescue operation," said Mahmoud Abdul Wahid, who added that seven of his family are still trapped under the rubble.
Due to the narrow alleyways in the area, the army punched a hole in a wall to enable a cargo vehicle to bring in heavy rescue equipment.
Apartments issue
The rockslide has angered some inhabitants, who blame the authorities. "The fall of rocks from the surrounding mountain (the Moqattam Hill) frequently happens," said Salem Hamad, who added he had lost his young wife in the rockslide. "But the authorities have not paid the slightest attention to our lives. They refused to move us to nearby apartments."
Hamad claimed that the authorities had given those apartments to relatives of officials.
Officials have denied the claim. "Orders were issued more than one year ago for residents of this shantytown to leave because it is unsafe," said Cairo Governor Abdul Azam Wazir on Saturday while touring the devastated area. He added that the residents refused to leave and "resisted the authorities".
Experts blamed the tragedy on sanitation water. "Rocks often fall from the Moqattam Hill due to water seeping from sanitation," Abbas Mansour, a geologist, told Gulf News.
-With inputs from agencies
