Cairo building collapsed as 1st floor resident removed load-bearing wall: Governor

CAIRO – 17 July 2023: The collapse of a building in Cairo’s Hadayek El-Kobba neighborhood, which has killed eight people, took place as a resident of the first floor removed a load-bearing wall to expand his apartment, Governor of Cairo Khaled Abdel Aal said after preliminary investigation.

The resident was arrested due to removing the wall without a permit, affecting the structural integrity of the five-story building and causing it to collapse, the governor said,

For his part, Minister of Local Administration Hisham Amna directed the governor to follow up on the efforts of the civil protection and rescue forces in searching for more victims under the rubble.

The minister also ordered evacuating the buildings around the collapsed unit as a preventive procedure to make sure they were not affected by the collapse.

Minister of Environment Nevine El-Qabbaj ordered disbursing EGP 60,000 compensation for each of the families of the deceased and also providing urgent assistance to the injured.

The wounded were transferred to Al-Demerdash Hospital to receive the necessary treatment.