Ten dead pulled from Cairo rubble

Firefighters worked by floodlight to free their trapped colleagues

Rescue teams have recovered 10 bodies following the collapse of a high-rise building in the Egyptian capital Cairo.

Nine of the dead were police and firemen sent to deal with a fire that took hold in the lower floors.

At least 30 people were injured and several are still trapped in rubble after the building collapsed on Monday.

The governor of Cairo said the building did not have planning permission for its 11 storeys - it had approval for

just four floors.

Fire officers said the building, in the residential and commercial area known as Nasr City, buckled after the fire spread through a shopping centre on the lower floors.

Their lower parts were trapped - I held the head of them Restaurant waiter In Pictures: Building collapse

Sources said the blaze possibly started in a cellar storing flammable materials, causing several explosions.

The building then collapsed concertina-style, leaving the top floor level with the second and third floors of neighbouring buildings.

Most of the people in the building, which housed a popular restaurant, were evacuated in time.

Search

The BBC's Heba Saleh in Cairo said rescuers worked by floodlight through the night to try to free those still trapped.

A waiter in a nearby restaurant described how he worked to pull people out of the wreckage, at least one of whom was alive.

"Their lower parts were trapped," he said. "I held the head of them. After about two hours, we managed to pull the man out."

The search for survivors and victims is continuing, as several people are still thought to be trapped under the rubble.

One security source said they were prepared to work for days until they were sure no-one was left in the building.

"You can pull survivors out of a building like this 48 hours after the incident," he added.

Two nearby buildings were also said to have been damaged in the collapse, and their tenants were evacuated.

Nasr City, an eastern suburb of Cairo near the airport, is home to many modern high-rise residential buildings and shopping areas.

Cairo governor Abdel Rahim Shehata visited the building overnight and said it was too early to give a final toll.

A demolition order was issued for the block 12 years ago, although it was not clear why it was not carried out.

Building collapses in Egypt are not uncommon, with buildings regulations sometimes ignored and unauthorised floors added, making existing structures unsafe.

At least seven people were killed when a six-storey building collapsed in Cairo last May.