17 dead after apartment collapse in Egypt

At least 17 people have been killed after an apartment building in Egypts capital collapsed.

Rescuers and neighbours frantically dug through rubble with their hands to find survivors at the scene in Cairos eastern Matariya district, authorities said.

The collapse highlights the long-standing problem of shoddy construction across Egypt, as neighbours said the seven-storey building had several floors illegally added onto it.

Egyptian developers seeking bigger profits frequently build without permits amid a nationwide housing shortage, rampant corruption and lax government oversight.

The building caved in at around 1.30am as many inside slept, witnesses said.

Bulldozers roared into the neighbourhoods narrow alleys after the collapse, removing chunks of cement, steel rods, scattered clothes and bloody bed sheets. Local residents said workers looked for mattresses in the hope survivors would be found nearby.

Mamdouh Abdel-Qader, the head of Cairo civil defence, said rescuers had recovered 17 bodies from the collapse.

The official MENA news agency said workers pulled eight residents out of the rubble alive. Neighbours said those still buried made desperate mobile phone calls, begging for help.

A man with his daughter was calling me saying they are trapped in darkness, said a dust-covered Ali Abdel-Fattah Ali, a government employee who moonlights as a mechanic in a nearby car repair shop.

I tried to call back but there was no answer. I dont know what happened. His phone is still ringing.

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17 dead after apartment collapse in Egypt