Two adjacent apartment buildings collapsed on Saturday evening in the Salakhana district of the Mansoura Governorate, leaving nine people--including five children--dead and another 14 injured. Security sources told Al-Masry Al-Youm that rescue workers had discovered five dead bodies, including that of a 40-day-old infant, under the rubble of the first building to fall. Four people were pulled out of the rubble alive, the sources said, adding that another four bodies had been found under the debris of the second building to collapse. According to the head of the local municipal council, the two buildings had been some 50 years old. He added that a demolition order had been issued for the second building to fall. Experts attribute the rash of recent building collapses to the decrepit condition of many buildings, the frequent use of substandard construction materials and the lack of adequate maintenance.
