Seven policemen and three citizens were killed and 11others injured when a building collapsed in Cairo's Hirafiyeen district on Thursday.
The building collapsed after an explosion tore through a chemical warehouse located on the first floor. The bodies of three policemen and three residents–who had been searching for survivors before the building collapsed on them–were eventually pulled from the rubble.
The fire spread to three neighboring buildings before firefighters managed to extinguish it and evacuate the buildings.
Public prosecutors have since revealed that the 13-story building was built without an official permit. The building’s owner reportedly suffered a nervous breakdown upon learning of the collapse.
According to investigators, two orders were issued–on 27 December and 19 January–for the closure of the chemical warehouse. Investigators also revealed that the warehouse in question had contained some 500 barrels of chemicals that had blown up in the conflagration.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
