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14:24 GMT, Saturday, 6 September 2008 15:24 UK

In pictures: Cairo rockslide

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Residents were in a state of shock and disbelief as they surveyed the scene of devastation where their homes once stood.

Woman collapses at Cairo shanty town

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The tragedy was too much for this woman, who collapsed into the arms of other residents in the Duwayqa district of Cairo.

Destroyed homes in Cairo shanty town

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The simple, brick-built homes which stood in the path of the falling boulders were utterly destroyed.

Scene of the rockslide

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Some residents could only gaze helplessly at the huge rocks lying where houses had once stood.

Crowd tries to clear rockslide

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But others could not wait for the cranes and bulldozers to arrive and tried to clear the rubble with their bare hands.

Trying to lift rocks from crushed houses

Trying to lift rocks from crushed houses

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Cairo policemen joined residents in trying to lift the rocks from people's flattened homes and reach survivors.

Sniffer dog at Cairo rockslide

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Another officer used a sniffer dog to try to locate survivors or bodies under the piles of rubble.

Man reacts at scene of Cairo rockslide

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Feelings were running high among distraught relatives who thought more could be done to reach survivors.

Homes in the shanty town

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One resident said the sound of the rockslide felt like an earthquake hitting the town.

Crushed homes in Cairo

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It was not clear what had triggered the disaster, but there have been other rockslides from the same hills.

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