Grief turns to search for justice in deadly Cairo building collapse


Kamal Tabikha
  • English
  • Arabic

The Cairo district of Hadayek Al Qubba, where a building collapsed on Monday morning killing 13 people including eight children, was quiet on Tuesday as the area mourned the loss of neighbours and friends.

Police were stationed at the entrance of Nasr Heresh alley, a narrow street in the large district’s lower-income section where the building collapsed, discouraging passers-by from taking photographs of the site or loitering.

All adjacent buildings were evacuated, leaving the alley void of activity as heaps of debris waits to be moved by municipal workers.

Passages from the Quran could be heard filtering through the windows of a number of homes as residents' thoughts began to move from mourning to justice.

“God help those in need and punish those responsible,” Hassan Hamed, 67, a contractor and resident of a parallel alley in the area, told The National.

“Everyone is talking about this one resident on the first floor of the building who was fixing up his house and caused the collapse. Neighbours told him to stop multiple times but he didn’t.”

Mr Hamed was referring to a man in custody who police say knocked down one of his walls to make way for an American-style kitchen.

The collapsed building was built in 1980, according to a statement from Cairo’s governor on Monday.

The 1970s and 80s were a time when demand for housing increased dramatically in light of more Egyptians from rural provinces moving to the capital in search of better prospects.

The scene of the collapsed building in Cairo. AFP
The scene of the collapsed building in Cairo. AFP

“I was living in Cairo in the 1980s and I remember builders were doing a lot to cut costs," Mr Hamed said. "At the time, we got cement from government outlets at reduced prices. Many people would buy the cement, use half of it to build their project and then sell the rest on the black market.

“Buildings are falling all over the country all the time and they usually date back to this period of construction. That’s why there are buildings around here that were built in the 1910s and 20s that are still standing today.”

Mr Hamed said the fault with these incidents lay with lax regulation from the government but bad behaviour from people also played a role.

However, the collapsed building had been built without government permission, Hossam El Din Fawzy, deputy governor of Cairo’s northern sector, told journalist Lamis El Hadidy during a television phone-in.

It had been issued a renovation notice by the local government in 1992, Mr Fawzy said, but the order was ignored.

The procedure usually starts with a renovation notice, followed by demolition of dangerous parts, then a full demolition if owners don’t take action to renovate, he explained.

However, Mr Hamed said these orders from the municipal government are rarely executed.

“A lot of these people that receive these notices don’t have two pennies to put together to do what the government is asking and even if they had some money saved on the side, where would they go for however long it took to renovate? They have jobs and live around here. So most of them just pray to God and hope for the best,” Mr Hamed said.

Since the start of the year, 18 buildings have collapsed in Egypt, six in the past 20 days, killing 30 people, data from Egypt's Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics showed.

A census taken in 2017 showed nearly 98,000 buildings were at risk of collapse.

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Men's football draw

Group A: UAE, Spain, South Africa, Jamaica

Group B: Bangladesh, Serbia, Korea

Group C: Bharat, Denmark, Kenya, USA

Group D: Oman, Austria, Rwanda

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What sanctions would be reimposed?

Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:

  • An arms embargo
  • A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
  • A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
  • A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
  • Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
Third Test

Result: India won by 203 runs

Series: England lead five-match series 2-1

One in nine do not have enough to eat

Created in 1961, the World Food Programme is pledged to fight hunger worldwide as well as providing emergency food assistance in a crisis.

One of the organisation’s goals is the Zero Hunger Pledge, adopted by the international community in 2015 as one of the 17 Sustainable Goals for Sustainable Development, to end world hunger by 2030.

The WFP, a branch of the United Nations, is funded by voluntary donations from governments, businesses and private donations.

Almost two thirds of its operations currently take place in conflict zones, where it is calculated that people are more than three times likely to suffer from malnutrition than in peaceful countries.

It is currently estimated that one in nine people globally do not have enough to eat.

On any one day, the WFP estimates that it has 5,000 lorries, 20 ships and 70 aircraft on the move.

Outside emergencies, the WFP provides school meals to up to 25 million children in 63 countries, while working with communities to improve nutrition. Where possible, it buys supplies from developing countries to cut down transport cost and boost local economies.

 

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Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport - the specs:

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While you're here
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Key findings of Jenkins report
  • Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
  • Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
  • Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
  • Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
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  • Choose cars with GCC specifications
  • Get a service history for cars less than five years old
  • Don’t go cheap on the inspection
  • Check for oil leaks
  • Do a Google search on the standard problems for your car model
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  • If you are planning to sell the car soon, buy one with a good resale value. The two most popular cars in the UAE are black or white in colour and other colours are harder to sell

Tarek Kabrit, chief executive of Seez, and Imad Hammad, chief executive and co-founder of CarSwitch.com

LA LIGA FIXTURES

Friday (UAE kick-off times)

Real Sociedad v Leganes (midnight)

Saturday

Alaves v Real Valladolid (4pm)

Valencia v Granada (7pm)

Eibar v Real Madrid (9.30pm)

Barcelona v Celta Vigo (midnight)

Sunday

Real Mallorca v Villarreal (3pm)

Athletic Bilbao v Levante (5pm)

Atletico Madrid v Espanyol (7pm)

Getafe v Osasuna (9.30pm)

Real Betis v Sevilla (midnight)

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Why seagrass matters
  • Carbon sink: Seagrass sequesters carbon up to 35X faster than tropical rainforests
  • Marine nursery: Crucial habitat for juvenile fish, crustations, and invertebrates
  • Biodiversity: Support species like sea turtles, dugongs, and seabirds
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Started: 2016

Founders: Hussein Nasser Eddin, Laila Akel, Tayeb Akel 

Based: Ramallah, Palestine

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# of staff: 13

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Rating: ****

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We weren’t supposed to survive but we did.      
We weren’t supposed to remember but we did.              
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We weren’t supposed to fight but we did.              
We weren’t supposed to organise but we did.
We weren’t supposed to rap but we did.        
We weren’t supposed to find allies but we did.
We weren’t supposed to grow communities but we did.        
We weren’t supposed to return but WE ARE.
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Three stars

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The National's picks

4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young

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Pharaoh's curse

British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.

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Director: Matty Brown

Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea

Rating: 2.5/5

Specs

Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric

Range: Up to 610km

Power: 905hp

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Volvo ES90 Specs

Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)

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Engine 60kwh FWD

Battery Rimac 120kwh Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide (LiNiMnCoO2) chemistry

Power 204hp Torque 360Nm

Price, base / as tested Dh174,500 

Specs

Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
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Price: On request

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Updated: July 18, 2023, 12:33 PM`