Four-story apartment building collapses in Cairo, killing at least 7

An apartment building collapsed on July 17 in the Egyptian capital of Cairo, leaving at least seven people dead, state-run media said, as rescuers at the scene searched through the rubble.

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

The state-run MENA news agency reported that rescue teams recovered at least seven bodies from under the rubble of a four-story building in Cairo’s neighborhood of Hadaeq el-Qubbah.

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

Police forces cordoned off the area as rescue teams were combing the rubble in search for possible survivors, according to local reports.

It was not immediately clear what caused the building to collapse.

The government has tried to crack down on illegal building in recent years after decades of lax enforcement. Authorities are also building new cities and neighborhoods to rehouse those living in at-risk areas.