Residential Building In Cairo Collapses, One Dead

An apartment building in the Egyptian capital of Cairo collapsed on Tuesday, killing a man, officials said.

Rescue workers who pulled out the man's body were frantically trying to retrieve his wife from under the four-story building in the city's Waraq neighbourhood.

The rescuers had managed to speak with her through the rubble and she was still alive, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk to the media.

Authorities opened an investigation, the state-run MENA news agency reported.

It wasn't immediately clear what caused the collapse but such incidents are common in Egypt, where shoddy construction is widespread in shantytowns, poor city neighbourhoods and rural areas.

Last month, at least five women died when an apartment building collapsed in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria. Another building in Cairo collapsed in March, leaving at least 25 dead.

With real estate at a premium in big cities such as Cairo and Alexandria, developers seeking bigger profits frequently violate planning permits. Extra floors often, for example, are sometimes added without proper government permits.

The government recently launched a crackdown on illegal construction across the country, jailing and fining violators, and in many cases demolishing the buildings.