CAIRO, Egypt – Rescue workers used bulldozers and cranes to clear rubble and search for survivors Tuesday after an 11-story building caught fire and collapsed, killing at least nine people.
After working through the night under spotlights, authorities recovered eight bodies – seven firefighters and police officers as well as a private citizen, according to rescue officials on the scene and Egypt’s semiofficial Middle East News Agency.
At least six people remained trapped in the rubble, and a member of the rescue team told The Associated Press that rescuers had heard from a survivor beneath the debris. The survivor said two others were alive with him, according to the rescue worker, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Gen. Mohammed el-Moayyed, in charge of rescue efforts on the scene, said that six firefighters were believed to still be trapped in the rubble and probably some workers from the appliance store.