Beirut rescue operation at collapsed building ends - BBC News

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Tenants of the "run-down" building had reportedly been urged to move out, before the collapse happened The rescue operation at a collapsed building in the Lebanese capital Beirut has been called off after the authorities ruled out the possibility of finding more survivors.

The five-floor building in the Ashrafiyeh district of Beirut suddenly collapsed on Sunday evening killing 27 people.

Eleven Lebanese and 16 foreign workers were killed.

The victims came from Sudan, the Philippines, Egypt and Jordan.

It is not yet known what caused the sudden collapse, but there is speculation that cracks in the building made worse by heavy rain may have been the cause.

'Danger ahead'



12 people were injured in the collapse, none of them seriously

There are growing calls for the government to carry out surveys of similar buildings across the country, as officials warn that many more are at risk of collapse.

The head of parliament's public works committee, MP Mohammed Qabbani, said that as many as 20,000 buildings could face a similar fate.

Red Cross official Georges Kettaneh confirmed 12 people had been injured, although none of them seriously.

One witness told a local television channel that "it was like an earthquake" when the block collapsed.

A resident who escaped with her mother said the building was extremely run-down and the owner had recently warned tenants to move out, AFP reported.

Lebanese President Michel Sleiman visited the site on Sunday evening, as did Interior Minister Marwan Charbel.

Mr Charbel told reporters the building's owner was being questioned by the authorities.

He added it was essential to carry out a survey of similar buildings across the country, many of which were built illegally or had several floors added without proper permits.

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Search at collapsed building site called off, 27 dead - The Daily Star

BEIRUT: The death toll from Sunday’s building collapse in Beirut stands at 27 and search operations have ended, Interior Minister Marwan Charbel said Tuesday.

"This morning, we called off the rescue operation and rescue vehicles have been pulled out,” Charbel told the Kataeb-run Voice of Lebanon.

He said the deaths included 11 Lebanese and 16 foreigners.

Charbel said five Lebanese and seven foreigners were among the 12 tenants who were pulled out alive from the rubble.

The seven-story building collapsed at about 5 p.m. Sunday in the Fassouh neighborhood of Ashrafieh.

Charbel said that no more people were believed to be missing under the rubble. Reports that a number of foreigners were missing turned out to be inaccurate.

The building had been home to more than 20 Sudanese, as well as people from the Philippines, Egypt and Jordan.

While they had not anticipated such a sudden collapse, neighbors and residents of the building who had not been inside said Monday there had been warning signs of structural problems weeks earlier.

According to several accounts, a loud noise had been heard behind the building on New Year’s Eve, prompting the owner to place metal support poles on both sides of the building.

Residents said it had been too difficult for them to move elsewhere and blamed the owner, Michel Saadeh, for not taking the appropriate measures to address the issue.

Prime Minister Najib Mikati established a committee Monday to investigate the cause of the collapse as Beirut Prosecutor George Karam launched a probe into the incident.

Judicial sources told The Daily Star Tuesday that residents who survived the collapse due to their presence outside the building were being investigated, in order to determine whether Saadeh had informed them of the risks the building faced.

The sources also said that Judge Raja Abi Nader has been tasked with inspecting buildings adjacent to one that was leveled for safety reasons.

A funeral procession will be held Tuesday for the Lebanese victims as Ashrafieh observes a day of mourning.

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At least 25 people died when a five-storey building collapsed in the Lebanese ... - BBC News

Tenants of the "run-down" building had reportedly been urged to move out, before the collapse happened At least 25 people died when a five-storey building collapsed in the Lebanese capital Beirut.

Rescuers are continuing their search of the site in the Ashrafiyeh district for a further 16 people believed to be buried beneath the rubble.

At least 12 people were injured when the building - said to house around 50 people - came down unexpectedly on Sunday evening.

Most of the dead were foreign workers living in Lebanon, officials said.

The victims included eight Sudanese, two Filipinos, two Egyptians and two Jordanians, AP quoted unnamed security officials as saying.

It is not yet known what caused the sudden collapse.

Local reports are speculating that cracks in the building made worse by heavy rain may have been the cause, or that the building could have been damaged by the impact of construction at several nearby sites.

'Extremely run-down'

Rescuers were using cranes, bulldozers and their bare hands to continue their search of the rubble on Monday.



Hopes are fading that any more survivors will be found in the collapsed building

But hopes of finding anyone else alive were fading.

Among the bodies were those of Tanios Farhat, 73, and his three sons, who appeared to have become trapped under the rubble as they tried to save their father, AP reports.

Red Cross official Georges Kettaneh confirmed 12 people had been injured, although none of them seriously.

Mr Khattar said the building had housed some 50 people.

At least eight people had escaped as the building came down, he added.

One witness told a local television channel that "it was like an earthquake" when the block collapsed.

A resident who escaped with her mother said the building was extremely run-down and the owner had recently warned tenants to move out, AFP reported.

Lebanese President Michel Sleiman visited the site on Sunday evening, as did Interior Minister Marwan Charbel.

Mr Charbel told reporters the building's owner was being questioned by the authorities.

He added it was essential to carry out a survey of similar buildings across the country, many of which were built illegally or had several floors added without proper permits.

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Death toll in Beirut building collapse rises to 20

Monday, January 16, 2012

BEIRUT –  Using cranes, bulldozers and their bare hands, Lebanese rescue workers searched the rubble Monday of a five-story residential building that collapsed after days of heavy rains, killing at least 20 people.

Most of the dead were foreign workers living in Lebanon. The owner of the building was arrested Monday, a day after the collapse.

"The ground shook like an earthquake, that's what we all thought," said Mazen Farhat, 46, who lives in the area and was passing by when the building collapsed. "I heard screams, and then the dust was everywhere, and I ran," he said as he stood among dozens of people watching the rescue efforts.

Building collapses in Lebanon are rare, and officials said the cause was not yet clear. It is possible that cracks in the old building were made worse by heavy rain or the effects of several nearby construction sites. Some residents reported hearing a small blast earlier this week, which turned out to be the snap of a pillar in the building.

Interior Minister Marwan Charbel said the building's owner, Michel Saadeh, was arrested and was being questioned.

Red Cross and civil defense workers in bright orange uniforms pulled out several bodies on stretchers Monday, rushing them away as relatives gasped and cried softly.

Rescue efforts were complicated Sunday by heavy rains and a thunderstorm.

Some 50 tenants lived in the building in Beirut's Fassouh district of Ashrafieh. It collapsed at around 6 p.m. Sunday as residents were returning home from work, increasing the number casualties, officials said.

The victims included eight Sudanese, two Filipinos, two Egyptians and two Jordanians, according to the security officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

Six Lebanese, including 15-year-old Anne Marie Abdel Karim, also died.

"I was asleep, I woke up and felt everything shaking and then something fell on me and I started screaming," said Antonella, Anne Marie's twin sister. She spoke to local reporters from her hospital bed, not knowing her sister had died. "Thank God it was just this, and nothing more," she said.

Among those presumed dead were also three brothers from the Farhat family who stayed on the ground floor after the building started to shake, trying to try and save their elderly father, Tanios Farhat, who was trapped inside. By afternoon Monday, the body of only one of the brothers Jihad Tanios, had been found.

Red Cross head of operations George Kattaneh confirmed the number of deaths and said 12 others were injured and were being treated in hospitals.

Several others were still missing, but officials said they did not expect to find any survivors. No survivors have been pulled out since late Sunday night.

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