CAIRO, 28 January 2004 — Fifteen people were killed when a blazing 12-story building collapsed in the Cairo suburb of Medinat Nasr early yesterday. Most of the dead were policemen and firefighters.
Rescue workers using bulldozers and cranes were lifting debris till late at night, but hope faded that any survivor could be found.
The building collapsed after a fire broke out in Souq Al-Wahda, a ground-floor small appliance store.
At least four more people remained trapped in the rubble. A member of the rescue team said rescuers had heard from a survivor beneath the debris who had said two others were alive with him. However, senior officials on the scene could not confirm any signs of life for several hours.
Gen. Mohammed El-Moayyed, in charge of rescue efforts on the scene, said that he had called for rescue workers from the armed forces to help in order to speed the work. “We are racing against time. Hopefully, we can get them alive, God willing,” El-Moayyed said.
A short time later, the body of Capt. Mohammed El-Gadi, a firefighter, was recovered and taken away in an ambulance.
Most residents had been evacuated by the time of the collapse, authorities said.
The building was built in 1981, and police said the owner illegally added four more floors 12 years ago. An order from the city to tear down the extra floors two years ago was never executed. Six days ago, tenants complained to police, saying renovation in the appliance store could damage the building’s foundations.
Thirty-six people were hospitalized with injuries, Health Minister Mohammed Awad Tag Eddin said.
