This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/middle_east/7602610.stm
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Cairo rockslide search continues | Cairo rockslide search continues |
| (about 6 hours later) | |
| Rescuers in Cairo are continuing their search for survivors after a rockslide crushed dozens of houses in Egypt's capital, killing at least 31 people. | |
| Dozens of houses in a shanty town in the eastern Duwayqa area were hit by huge boulders and rocks on Saturday. | Dozens of houses in a shanty town in the eastern Duwayqa area were hit by huge boulders and rocks on Saturday. |
| At least 40 people were injured and dozens are said to be still trapped in the rubble. | At least 40 people were injured and dozens are said to be still trapped in the rubble. |
| A six-storey building below the Muqattam hills had been completely reduced to rubble, residents said. | A six-storey building below the Muqattam hills had been completely reduced to rubble, residents said. |
| It was not clear what had triggered the rockfall but local residents were blaming construction work on the hill for causing the disaster. | It was not clear what had triggered the rockfall but local residents were blaming construction work on the hill for causing the disaster. |
| 'Horror' | 'Horror' |
| At least eight boulders - each estimated to weigh about 70 tonnes - fell from the towering cliffs overlooking the district at about 0900 local time (0700 GMT), reports said. | At least eight boulders - each estimated to weigh about 70 tonnes - fell from the towering cliffs overlooking the district at about 0900 local time (0700 GMT), reports said. |
| href="/1/hi/in_pictures/7602972.stm">Aftermath in pictures | |
| "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. | "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. |
| "It was horror," he said. | "It was horror," he said. |
| Witnesses described seeing hundreds of distraught people gathered around the site of the destruction, saying they had relatives and friends trapped under the rubble. | Witnesses described seeing hundreds of distraught people gathered around the site of the destruction, saying they had relatives and friends trapped under the rubble. |
| Some were scrabbling at the rocks with their bare hands. | Some were scrabbling at the rocks with their bare hands. |
| Rescue teams were forced to wait for the arrival of cranes and heavy lifting equipment to allow them to move the huge rocks, but as night fell the help had not arrived. | Rescue teams were forced to wait for the arrival of cranes and heavy lifting equipment to allow them to move the huge rocks, but as night fell the help had not arrived. |
| A BBC correspondent says there have been previous landslides in the area. | A BBC correspondent says there have been previous landslides in the area. |
| Advertisement | Advertisement |
| Aftermath of Cairo rockslide | Aftermath of Cairo rockslide |