What has been done so far in Alexandria post-building collapse

CAIRO – 6 April 2018: Directorate of East Alexandria ordered the evacuation of six properties near the building that collapsed earlier on Friday, as precautionary measures, according to Waheed Radwan, head of the Directorate of East Alexandria.

Radwan explained that the residents were asked to evacuate the properties without moving their things, and that this was a measure taken until the committee for construction safety inspects the buildings. The committee will conduct its preliminary inspections Saturday morning, Radwan also added.

Furthermore, the head of the Directorate of East Alexandria affirmed that the rescue team were still excavating for the other three bodies believed to be lost between the rubble.

The body of Amr Abdel Aziz Al-Beltagy, 36, was found at 6 p.m. Friday under the rubble of the Alexandria building that collapsed earlier the same day, Alexandria Governor Mohamed Sultan announced.

The body was moved to Kom el-Dekka morgue.

Earlier on Friday, some 25 members from five families that have been injured by the collapsed Sidi Gaber building in Alexandria will be moved to Moustafa Kamel Association that is affiliated to the Directorate of Social Solidarity, Mohamed Kamal Eldeen Al-Hagagy, a deputy at the Ministry of Social Solidarity in Alexandria.

The families are to reside in the Moustafa Kamel Association until the inspection committee for construction safety rules that neighboring properties are safe to return to. Furthermore, Hagagy told Egypt Today that all preparations and needs will be met at the Association, and that a daily stipend will be issued to the families, until they return to their homes.


The collapsed building number 4 in Al-Quds Street, Sidi Gaber, Alexandria, April 6, 2018 – Egypt Today

Earlier on Friday, a security source at the Directorate of Alexandria announced that there were four individuals under the rubble of the collapsed building, according to eyewitnesses and residents of the area. The source added that victims were still being searched for with police dogs.

Alexandria Governor Mohamed Sultan created a committee comprised of civil construction engineering professors to preview the collapsed building and diagnose the causes of its fall, Ahram Gate reported Friday. The committee will also check nearby buildings to ensure their safety.

A previous statement issued by the Alexandria Security Directorate stated that Moustafa El-Nemr, director of Alexandria Security, was notified that seven-tier-building number 4 of Al-Quds Street collapsed earlier on Friday, at 3 a.m. El-Nemr headed to the site of the collapse immediately, accompanied by several officers of civil protection and security forces from Sidi Gaber Police Department.

The collapse occurred near the railway in east Alexandria. El-Nemr supervised the excavations that removed rubble off the railway, and by 8 a.m., trains resumed their usual operations again.


The rubble of the collapsed building number 4 on the railway in east Alexandria, April 6, 2018 - Egypt Today

In light of the building’s collapse and the recurrence of Alexandria’s properties’ collapses in addition to the construction of illegal properties, the Administrative Control Authority in Alexandria launched a campaign a month ago to issue verdicts of immediate demolition, in cooperation with security and executive forces, to all illegal properties or illegally-built extra tiers in properties. In addition, construction materials will be confiscated and said properties will be evacuated to preserve the lives of residents.

In total so far, 53 verdicts of demolition were issued, clearing a total of 12,337 meters in all governorates.