A three level residential building in the coastal city of Alexandria partially collapsed without warning on its residents on Friday, leaving three dead and 9 others injured, local reports said. Officials say one of the balconies fell onto people below. The building was in the populated area of downtown and civil defense forces are currently searching the debris of the building hoping to rescue any trapped persons. A list of casualties and injured residents' names has yet to be released by the government. Alexandria was hit recently by another building collapse earlier this week at a ready-made wear factory in the city fell in on the workers, killing 11 and injuring 12 others. The 5 story factory had 100 persons working the day it collapsed and reports say that the governor has ordered a committee to form and stand on the reasons and circumstances behind the fall. Local commentators have long argued corruption is the main reason behind the re-occurring disasters with buildings, saying that many buildings in Alexandria have extra stories added on without the right permits, which weaken buildings infrastructure and makes it venerable to fall down. Governmental offices responsible for inspecting and granting building permits have a bad reputation in the country for accepting bribes and often blamed when such an accident happen. BM
