The Civil Defense Authority said Thursday that the search is ongoing for victims buried in the rubble after a building collapse killed nine people in Assiut on Wednesday night.
The four-story building in downtown Assiut belonged to a retired army general, Zidan Abdallah. Abdallah and his wife were among those killed in the collapse.
The Ministry of Social Affairs Child and Maternal Care Department had rented out one floor of the building.
The governor’s secretary, Yacoub Emam, said the owners of the building were carrying out reconstruction work before it collapsed.
“The residents of the next building were evacuated after part of it collapsed as well, and it is being inspected,” said Emam.
Such collapses are common in Egypt as thousands of buildings are built in violation of safety regulations, and maintenance of old structures rarely takes place.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
