Rescue workers pulled three more bodies from the rubble of a 12-storey building that collapsed in Egypt's Mediterranean port city of Alexandria, bringing to 15 the number known to have died, security sources said Wednesday.
Cairo (dpa) - Rescue workers pulled three more bodies from the rubble of a 12-storey building that collapsed in Egypt's Mediterranean port city of Alexandria, bringing to 15 the number known to have died, security sources said Wednesday.
Three people have been confirmed rescued since the building collapsed on Monday. Earlier unconfirmed reports put the number of survivors at seven.
While rescue workers from other provinces were sent to the search site, hopes for finding more survivors were fading.
The local authorities had previously ordered the building to be torn down or restored because it was built without authorization.
The building, in the city's Loran district, had seven stories when it was built in 1978, but five more were recently added.
Building collapses, which are quite frequent in Egypt, usually happen because of violations of construction codes, poor maintenance and unauthorized additions that lead to weaker structures.
Visiting the site on Tuesday, Alexandria's Governor Adel Labib said restoration work was being carried out when the 36-apartment building collapsed.
The district attorney had ordered the arrest of the building's owner and of the civil engineer and contractor in charge of the restoration work.
more Eight Muslim Brotherhood members detained in Egypt At least eight members of Egypt's banned Muslim Brotherhood movement were arrested on Monday on charges of belonging to an outlawed group, security sources said.
Egypt
Alexandria
