Egypt

Four buildings collapse in Alexandria

Four buildings collapsed in Alexandria on Sunday in the neighborhoods of Karmouz and al-Gomrok, injuring one woman.
 
Karmouz Police Station was notified that two deserted buildings on al-Nil Street (numbers 122 and 124) had collapsed. 
 
The buildings fell into another deserted building, which stood in close proximity, causing half of it to fall apart as well.
 
The three collapses caused no casualties.
 
The local authorities temporarily evacuated residents the adjacent buildings 126 and 128 until they had been safety assessed by experts.
 
In the neighborhood of Gomrok, a woman was injured when part of a four-storey building (number 15) on Zawyat Khattab Street collapsed. She was taken to hospital and residents of the building were evacuated.
 
Speaking on condition of anonymity, an official from the West Alexandria Authority attributed the incidents to what he described as the "mafia of contractors" and owners, who seek to demolish old buildings and erect more profitable new buildings in their place. In doing so, he said, building contractors and owners sometimes illegally obtain demolition permits, and in other cases bribe local authorities in order to begin demolition without a permit.
 
He called for amending the law for attaining construction permits.
 
 
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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