At least 13 people have been confirmed dead following a five-story apartment building collapsed Monday in the Egyptian capital of Cairo.
Emergency workers and rescuers continued to search through the rubble where Police forces cordoned off the area.
The rescue teams pulled bodies from the wreckage and sent four survivors to a hospital following the collapse in Cairo’s Hadaeq el-Qubbah neighbourhood.
Deputy governor of Cairo Hossam Fawzi, said 13 people were killed and that efforts continued to find two missing people.
An initial investigation by Egypt’s Public Prosecutor said the collapse was likely as a result of walls removed during renovation work. The male resident was arrested and is being questioned, it said.
Egypt’s Ministry of Social Solidarity said it would give 60,000 Egyptian pounds ($1,940) to the families of the nine victims. The ministry also said it would deliver aid to the injured and was monitoring the damage to nearby properties.
The authorities are building new cities and neighbourhoods to rehouse those living in at-risk areas. The government is cracking down on illegal structures in recent years after decades of lax enforcement.
