Building collapse in Cairo suburb kills at least 3

Building collapse in Cairo suburb kills at least 3

2011-01-28 10:04:25 GMT+7 (ICT)

CAIRO (BNO NEWS) -- At least three people were killed on early Thursday morning when a large building collapsed in the Egyptian city of Dar El Salam, local media reported on Friday.

The state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper said the 12-story residential building collapsed after a fire had broken out in a storage area filled with paint. Most of the residents had been evacuated when the building collapsed at around 2 a.m. local time.

Two police officers and four firefighters, however, were inside the building when it fell on top of them. Three bodies have been recovered, but it was not immediately known if the other six victims had survived the accident.

Dar el-Salam is a small Upper Egyptian city near Akhmim. It is located on the east bank of the Nile, in the Sohag Governorate.

In October 2008, at least 12 people were killed in the Egyptian port city of Alexandria when a four-story apartment building collapsed during the early morning hours. Other residents were injured.

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