Audio By Carbonatix
The death toll from a rockslide that crushed dozens of houses in Egypt's capital, Cairo, has reached 38.
Rescuers are continuing to search for survivors after houses in a shanty town in the eastern Duwayqa area were hit by huge boulders on Saturday.
It is unclear what triggered the rockslide but local residents were blaming quarrying work higher up the Muqattam hills overlooking Cairo.
At least 57 people were injured and dozens are said to be still trapped.
At least eight boulders - some estimated to weigh about 70 tonnes - fell from the towering cliffs of the Muqattam onto Duwayqa district on Saturday morning.
'Horror'
Teams of rescuers - some with heavy lifting machinery but some using only their bare hands - worked through the night searching for survivors.
Local people say they believe there are many more victims trapped or missing than the official government estimates.
A six-storey building below the Muqattam hills had been completely obliterated, residents said.
"The power went out, we heard a loud bang like an earthquake and I thought this house had collapsed. I went out, I saw the whole mountain had collapsed," said Hassan Ibrahim Hassan, 80, whose house escaped the destruction.
A BBC correspondent says the area is known to have had landslides previously.
Anger
One resident who spoke to the BBC said the local authority had been breaking rocks on the cliffs, which she suspected caused the landslide.
"The people from the authorities for the last nine months were keeping us in our homes and breaking stones every day. We saw a boulder coming down on us, on our houses, on the children, our belongings, and our neighbours and they pulled them out dead. Just as you see, no-one has done anything to help since yesterday."
Another angry resident said that those responsible for causing the landslide should be held to account:
"These people should have been moved from their houses, and we blame the government for this, and we will not relinquish our rights, and the blood of Egyptians is not cheap."
Source: BBC
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
Tags:
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
Latest Stories
-
Tony Elumelu appointed chairman of Seplat Energy
13 minutes -
Education Minister raises alarm over indiscipline in SHSs, announces national reform conference
15 minutes -
Lom Ahlijah advocates tech-based monitoring in schools after assault case
19 minutes -
UTAG threatens nationwide strike over delay in book and research allowance rate
27 minutes -
Boundary Commission urges border residents to protect boundary pillars and support national security
29 minutes -
Ghana to grow at 5.0% GDP in 2026, but faces huge investment financing gap – AfDB
31 minutes -
Deputy AG, 14 CSOs appear at Supreme Court for hearing on challenge to OSP’s prosecutorial powers
36 minutes -
Minority MPs meet Ghana High Commissioner to Canada to discuss diaspora welfare and bilateral relations
45 minutes -
GNAT threatens WASSCE boycott over detained Nyinahin SHS teacher
52 minutes -
Free SHS: Education Minister hails end of school food shortages
56 minutes -
NLA Director-General calls for a concerted effort in fight against illegal gambling
58 minutes -
74% of returned Ghanaians had overstayed visas – South Africa’s Int’l Relations Minister
1 hour -
Ghana’s National Vaccine Institute joins WHO-backed Global Clinical Trials Forum
1 hour -
World Bank set to approve US$300m for expansion of Ghana’s school infrastructure
1 hour -
South Africa says investigations ongoing, no decision yet on compensation for returned Ghanaians
1 hour