A seven-storey residential building collapsed in the Mansouriya area, east of the capital, Beirut, and rescue teams rushed to the scene to rescue residents trapped under the rubble.
In detail, at a quarter to two in the afternoon on Monday, the operations room of the General Directorate of Civil Defense received a report about the incident, and its members, trained to carry out rescue, relief and evacuation missions from under the rubble, headed from multiple centers to the specified location, where they were able to support other rescue agencies. Four female citizens were rescued from the rubble, while work is underway to withdraw a female citizen.
While the Minister of Interior and Municipalities in the caretaker government, Judge Bassam Mawlawi, who came to the site of the collapsed building, revealed that there are “five people in the building and teams are working to rescue them,” he appointed the Director General of Civil Defense, Brigadier General Raymond Khattar, who was present at the site to supervise the progress of operations. The agencies concerned with conducting an accurate census of the number of residents of the building and their phone numbers in order to be able to communicate with them and compile a final list of the number of missing persons and their identities.
In the same context, the Governor of Mount Lebanon, Judge Muhammad Al-Makkawi, assigned an engineering team to conduct an immediate inspection of the collapsed building, determine the reasons that led to its occurrence, and clarify matters to take the necessary measures in light of the final report.
The municipality “issued a warning to the residents that these buildings need to strengthen their columns,” according to what Mawlawi confirmed, while the head of the Beirut Engineers Syndicate, Arif Yassin, indicated in a television interview from the site of the accident that “the building is at risk of complete collapse and poses a danger to the neighboring building and must Some nearby buildings were evacuated.” One of the owners of the collapsed building revealed to a local channel, “The building cracked after the Beirut explosion and was repaired immediately, and there are those who say they heard a strong sound in the morning.”
According to preliminary information, the heavy rainfall led to the collapse of the building’s cracked columns, as a depression accompanied by relatively cold air masses dominates the eastern basin of the Mediterranean and Lebanon, according to the Meteorological Service of the General Directorate of Civil Aviation.
“Every negligent person will bear responsibility, because people’s lives are precious,” stressed Mawlawi, who indicated that he had communicated “with the civil organization and a team of engineers, and no one can shirk responsibility. Everyone is required to contribute to relief and rescue operations in accordance with applicable laws, under penalty of responsibility.” .
A member of the “Strong Republic” bloc, MP Razi Al-Hajj, followed the collapse of the building in Mansouriya, and made contact with the Secretary-General of the Supreme Relief Commission, Major General Mohamed Khair, who promised to send a team from the Commission to inspect the building, survey the damage, and coordinate with the security forces, civil defense personnel, and the Red Cross. I came to the location, according to what his media office reported.
Two issues will be worked on, according to the Minister of the Interior, “First, evacuating the neighboring buildings to prevent their collapse, and second, I have communicated with the security services to secure the necessary protection for property and assets for fear of tampering with the intention of stealing,” hoping for a response from the people, “as we do not want to hinder the work of the rescue services, and it will remain.” The Director General of Civil Defense is present with us and will not leave before the work is completed.”
Following the collapse of the building, the Lebanese Real Estate Authority called on “the occupants of buildings in each area to establish a civil committee and clean the water and sewage drains,” as it indicated in a statement that “in view of the current difficult and deteriorating situation that is not hidden from anyone, caution must be exercised and monitoring The buildings and their sturdiness and safety, especially in light of the displacement of the people of the south and their search for housing to rent or to live with their relatives.”
She stressed that “Lebanon and its people cannot tolerate crises,” pointing to climate change and potential disasters, and that “the harsh winter that Lebanon will witness will have severe repercussions on buildings.”
2023-10-16 16:53:06
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