Authorities have successfully removed two façades of Alexandria's 13-storey apartment building that has tilted into another, paving the way for the complete demolition of the building, Al-Ahram Arabic news website reported. The demolition of the building, which is being done manually and gradually from top to bottom, is being conducted in coordination between Alexandria governorate, the engineering division of the North Military Region, the Arab Contractors Company and the Faculty of Engineering at Alexandria University. Ali Morsi, head of the central district of Alexandria, said that the work has been ongoing for 24 hours and will end in the demolition of the building. In the past two days, all belongings of the building's residents were retrieved and delivered to owners. After the building tilted more than one week ago it was evacuated, along with nearby buildings, with residents resettled in emergency housing. Earlier, Alexandria Governor Mohamed Sultan said that reports showed the sharp forward tilt was caused by excessive height, that had weakened the building's foundations. The building, in Azarita district in the coastal city of Alexandria, was initially granted a four-storey license, but an additional nine floors were illegally added without permission, the governor said. Building collapses are commonplace in Egypt and are usually attributed to violations of building specifications, illegal extensions and lax oversight.
