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Apartment building collapses in Egypt, killing 17

An apartment building in Egypt's capital collapsed Tuesday, killing at least 17 people as rescuers and neighbors frantically dug through rubble with their hands to find survivors, authorities said.

 

The collapse in Cairo's eastern Matariya district highlights the longtime problem of shoddy construction across Egypt, as neighbors said the seven-story building had several floors illegally added onto it. Egyptian developers seeking bigger profits frequently build without permits amid a nationwide housing shortage, rampant corruption and lax government oversight.

 

The building caved in around 1: 30 am as many inside slept, witnesses said. Bulldozers roared into the neighborhood's narrow alleys after the collapse, removing chunks of cement, steel rods, scattered clothes and bloody bed sheets. Neighbors said workers looked for mattresses in the hope they'd find survivors nearby.

 


פרסום ראשון: 11.25.14, 17:18