Authorities have recovered 19 bodies from under the rubble of three apartment buildings that collapsed in Alexandria, the Health Ministry said Monday. Nine people who were injured were also rescued from the buildings, and efforts to search for other victims are ongoing.
Ahmed al-Ansary, deputy chief of the Egyptian Ambulance Organization, said the bodies were transferred to Kom al-Dekka Morgue. Four of those injured were transferred to Al-Amiry Public University Hospital, one to Ras al-Teen Hospital and two to Al-Hadra Hospital.
Medical teams at the hospitals examined the injured victims, Ansary said. Another two cases were treated at the scene, by medics working on the ambulances located near the collapsed buildings.
An 11-story apartment building collapsed on Saturday in the working-class neighborhood of Gomrok, leading to the collapse of three neighboring buildings. Emergency response teams are still removing debris.
Building collapses are not uncommon. Poorly constructed buildings can be found in informal settlements, poor neighborhoods and rural areas.
