Building collapse toll hits 33
2007-12-29 14:51
Cairo - The death toll from the collapse of a 12-storey residential building in Egypt's Mediterranean city of Alexandria rose to 33 on Saturday, Egypt's official Middle East News Agency (MENA) reported.
MENA said Rescue workers had dug out three bodies from under the rubble early on Saturday and continue to search for more.
Authorities had said they thought only 25 to 30 people were buried under the rubble after the building collapsed on Monday.
Security sources said on Friday rescue workers had been able to bring out three survivors from the rubble since the building collapsed. The building disintegrated as construction workers carried out repairs on the first floor.
It was constructed as a seven-storey building in 1982 without a permit, authorities said. The owner obtained a permit later, but then illegally added five storeys.
Prosecutors had issued warrants for the arrest of a number of people linked to the collapse, including the woman who owned the building. They had arrested the contractor responsible for the renovation work underway immediately before the collapse, the sources said.
Building collapses were common in Egypt because of lax building standards and poor maintenance. On Tuesday, also in Alexandria, at least five people were injured when a building partially collapsed, said security sources.