Relief at the site of the collapsed building in Cairo, Saturday March 27.
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Tarek wajeh / AP / SIPA
Eighteen people died in the collapse of a building in a popular area of the Egyptian capital on Saturday morning, state newspaper
Al-Ahram reported
.
“The rescue teams managed to extract 18 bodies from the rubble,” the daily said.
A previous report, provided by the governorate of Cairo, reported five dead and 24 wounded.
"The governorate crisis room was informed at 3 am of the collapse of a building consisting of a basement, a ground floor and nine floors" in the district of Gesr Suez, in the east of Cairo, the governorate wrote in a statement.
"Khaled Abdel Aal, the governor, immediately went to the scene of the incident accompanied by civil protection forces," he added.
He ordered "the formation of an engineering committee" to inspect surrounding buildings and assess the impact of the incident.
Several buildings have collapsed in recent years in Egypt, causing many victims, due to their dilapidation and non-compliance with the legislation in terms of town planning.
Saturday, a fire ravaged dilapidated shops near Zagazig station, according to the governorate of Charkiya (northeast), without causing any casualties.
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