CAIRO, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- At least 12 people were killed and seven were injured on early Tuesday when a building collapsed in the Egyptian capital Cairo, state-run Ahram newspaper reported on its website.
Rescue teams are currently searching for survivors trapped under the rubble in the western Cairo suburb of Matariya where the collapse took place, while the seven injured have been taken to hospital.
Initial investigations said the eight-story building collapse was caused by unauthorized construction of several extra stories on the old building, official at Cairo's civil protection authority was quoted by Ahram.
Nearby buildings have been evacuated, the official added, noting that the civil authority had previously ordered the old building to be evacuated for its bad conditions, but the inhabitants didn't respond.
Building collapses are common in Egypt, where unlicensed construction had spread not only in the rural areas but also in the capital upscale suburbs due to lax governmental supervision and greedy behavior of the developers.
