CAIRO: At least 31 people were killed and 23 injured yesterday when dozens of homes in a northern Cairo shantytown were crushed by a massive rockslide, Egyptian officials said.
Disaster struck at 8:50 a.m. when several huge boulders estimated by one official at weighing “hundreds of tons” each broke off Moqattam Hill overlooking the capital’s densely populated Manshiyet Nasser and struck the district of Isbat Bekhit.
The section of hill that broke away was estimated at 60 meters wide and 15 meters long.
In the early afternoon, the official MENA news agency put the casualty toll at 31 dead and 23 injured. But local deputy Haidar Bardadi told Egyptian television he expected the toll to rise drastically, saying 35 homes had been crushed and between 150 and 200 people were trapped beneath the rubble.
Rescuers used bare hands to shift debris in a desperate bid to search for victims.
The reason for the rock fall, which came at a time when many people were still at home resting during the first weekend of the month of Ramadan, was not immediately known.
But several witnesses said work had been taking place on the hill above the quarter for several weeks, and that the authorities had warned about the dangers. “There had already been some landslides, slightly injuring some people,” said 42-year-old driver Abdel Latin Hossam, whose house was spared.
Laborer Sarghali Gharib, 24, told how he had lost eight members of his family — five sisters, a sister-in-law and her two children.
“It was horrible, like an earthquake. There had already been collapses, and the government did nothing to evacuate the district,” he said angrily.
Police cordoned off the area and specialist dog handlers were deployed in the debris to try and locate survivors.
Rescue teams struggled to make progress because of the sheer size of the boulders. They were forced to wait for the arrival of cranes and special heavy lifting equipment to allow them to move the rocks.
One AFP journalist at the scene said there was panic as residents of the poor neighborhood searched frantically for missing friends and relatives. “Two years ago the authorities warned us that it would fall on top of us, and today the accident happened,” said Jamal Badr, 32, whose brick-built home was buried in the rock fall.
