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'We Are In A Race Against Time'

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By TARIQ EL-FARAMAWY, The Associated Press

Published: December 26, 2007

ALEXANDRIA, Egypt - Rescue workers have pulled 12 bodies from the rubble of a 12-story building that collapsed in Egypt's Mediterranean port city of Alexandria, the city's police chief said Tuesday.

Three people were rescued, and 15 more are feared dead, Maj. Gen. Abdel-Meguid Selim told The Associated Press.

On Monday, when the building collapsed, officials reported at least three people were dead.

"We are in a race against time," Selim said. "We hope to get as many victims alive as possible," he added.

Rescue workers with sniffing dogs from Cairo and other nearby provinces were sent to search the site.

The local government had ordered the building, in the Loran suburb, to be demolished or renovated because it was built without authorization more than 25 years ago, the state-run Middle East News Agency reported.

A police official said the building, built in 1978, originally had seven stories but five additional ones were built in recent years.
Selim cautioned that it was too early to tell what caused the building to collapse.

Buildings regularly collapse in Egypt as a result of deterioration with time or because of shoddy construction that fails to meet standards and regulations.

In addition, some owners tend to illegally add on more stories, thereby destabilizing the structure.

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