Cairo apartment block collapse kills 13: Residents left in rubble as building crumbles

A five-storey residential building yesterday in the Al-Kubba district of Cairo, Egypt, crumbled resulting in at least 13 fatalities. Seven victims were members of the same family.

Several others sustained injuries, and responders from the Civil Defence Authority rescued nine survivors. Charges have been made against the respective property owner, contractor and workers linked to the collapse.

A sobering scene was unveiled yesterday, as a five-storey apartment block situated in the heart of Cairo, the bustling capital of Egypt, suddenly collapsed. The catastrophic incident led to the unwelcomed deaths of 13 residents, seven of whom were heartbreakingly from the same household. The disaster inflicted further wounds, severely injuring a multitude of survivors who were promptly tended to by the local Civil Defence Authority.

The catastrophe elicited an immediate response from the Civil Defence Authority who rescued nine fortunate survivors from the debris. Still, tragically, the official statement reads…

“Eight others have succumbed to the collapse, whilst five others managed to escape the collapsing edifice on time.”

All of these unfortunate individuals were occupants of the vicinity in question during the incident, and their existence was suddenly interrupted by this unforeseen disaster, reported The Straits Times and Reuters.

To add further context to this story, the collapse is blamed on recent structural alterations undertaken by a resident of a first-floor flat. Despite pleas from neighbours against their actions, the walls were nonetheless dismantled. Following these revelations, the prosecutor’s office issued orders for the arrest of the building owner, the contractor in charge of the work, and the workers involved, to facilitate interrogations.

The historical city centre of the capital, populated primarily with buildings dating back to the 19th and early 20th centuries, is notorious for structures in derelict or dilapidated states. Many lie abandoned, and a disturbing number have crumbled over recent years, making this occurrence an unwelcome addition to a growing list of similar incidents across the city