12 - floor building collapsed in Cairo
Egypt, Local, 1/27/2004

News reports in Cairo said that the body of one member of the civil defense forces was taken from under the ruins of a building that collapsed in Naser city quarters, to the East of Cairo, as a result of an explosion inside it.

Some 35 persons were hit in the collapse of the building, which is composed of 12 floors and includes a trade market, while there are still 16 persons stuck under the ruins.

News reports also said that 25 persons from the inhabitants of the building were admitted to hospital, while members of the rescue teams are still searching for four police officers and 8 members of the civil defense who were stuck under the ruins of the building as they were trying to take the inhabitants out of it.

Director of Cairo security department Lt. Gen. Nabil al-Ezabi said that the 16 persons who are stuck under the ruins are mostly soldiers who took part in the rescue operation. Officials said that the building collapsed after fire erupted in the basement.

The police explained that the fire resulted in several explosions that may have been a result of gas cylinders, especially as the building include a public restaurant, adding that two adjoining buildings were evacuated because of cracks that appeared in their walls.

One fireman told journalists that the building which is situated in Abbas al-Aqqad street in the quarters of Naser city collapsed after one and a half hours from the beginning of the fire. He added that the fire started in a store for selling plastic items in the building founded 20 years ago.

The governor of Cairo, Abdul Rahim Shatah, stressed that no talks can be made for the time being about the number of victims in the collapsed, noting that all concerned departments are carrying out their due duty in a run with time to rescue survivors from under the ruins.

The governor explained that a decision was issued in 1992 to remove the building and the licensing given for it in 1979 was only valid for 4 floors.

The minister of housing Muhammad Ibrahim Suleiman explained that 7 out of 12 floors in this building which was founded in 1981 were illegally added, stressing that an investigation will be opened to find out the real reasons behind the building's collapse.

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