A five-storey apartment building collapses in Cairo and kills at least 9 people

A five-storey apartment building collapsed Monday in the Egyptian capital of Cairo, leaving at least nine people dead, authorities said, as rescuers searched through the rubble.

A five-storey apartment building collapsed Monday in the Egyptian capital of Cairo, leaving at least nine people dead, authorities said, as rescuers searched through the rubble.

Building collapses are common in Egypt, where shoddy construction and a lack of maintenance are widespread in shantytowns, poor city neighbourhoods and rural areas.

The state-run MENA news agency reported that rescue teams recovered at least nine bodies from under the rubble of the building in Cairo's neighbourhood of Hadaeq el-Qubbah, roughly 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) from the city's centre.

Four survivors were also taken to a hospital and authorities evacuated a neighboring apartment building, MENA said.

Following an initial inspection, Cairo's deputy governor, Hossam Fawzi, said the collapse was caused by one of the ground floor residents who removed a number of walls during earlier maintenance work.

The man has been detained and will be investigated, he said.

Egypt's Ministry of Social Solidarity said it would give 60,000 Egyptian pounds (USD 1,940) to the families of the nine victims.