Collapsing building in Alexandria kills at least 12

A four-storey building collapsed in the Mustafa Kamel district in Alexandria this morning, claiming the lives of at least 11. Among the dead was a mother holding her baby tight. At least ten more were injured according to AFP. 35 people were living in the building that collapsed at 1 A:M in the morning. The rescue operation continues.

Salah Subhi, the Muslim Brotherhood MP for Alexandria was at the scene this moorning, and put the blame on the municipality.

"The building was known to need renovation work,"

Collapsed buildings are unfortunately far too common than one might have wished for. The city of Alexandria has been among the misfurtunate ones lately, on the eve of the new year, last December 35 people lost their lives in an equally tragic incident when a 12-storey building collapsed in the district of Loran. In 2005, 19 people died in another collapse in the City. It was less than three months ago, that i last had to write about it, then in the City of Mansoura , with an equally dreadful outcome, among the five victims at that time was two twins.
The building was from 1955, and a fifth floor was added in 1997 in violation of the law.

The residents had complained to the local authorities that the building was unsafe and the authorities had ordered the removal of the fifth floor and other structural changes, they added. But the orders were not implemented, they said.

New legislation was introduced in 1996 to counter the problem after a building collapsed in the upper Middle class area of Heliopolis in Cairo and took 64 lives, but little if any has changed.

UPDATE: A twelwth person has died according to newsreports.