Ten killed as half-built apartment block collapses in Alexandria

At LEAST ten people were killed when an 11-storey apartment block under construction collapsed yesterday, hitting adjacent buildings in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria.

The health ministry said that five other people were injured and that search teams were still searching for survivors buried under rubble.

The building in the poor Alexandria neighbourhood of al-Gomrouk collapsed late on Saturday onto three adjacent buildings, reducing much of the structures to rubble.

All the dead and injured lived in the three smaller buildings. Building collapses are not uncommon in Egypt, where shoddy construction is widespread in shanty towns, poor city neighbourhoods and rural areas.

With property at a premium in big cities such as Alexandria and Cairo, developers seeking bigger profits frequently violate planning permits and exceed the number of stories allowed.

At least 11 people were killed in Alexandria in 2008 when a four-storey building collapsed late at night as residents slept.