Death toll in Cameroon building collapse rises to 33, rescue efforts underway

A day after a four-storey building in Cameroon’s commercial hub and largest city Douala collapsed, the death toll more than doubled asrescue teams continued searching for survivors, said the local authorities on Monday (July 24). Dozens of people were affected by the incident, said local officials.

What do we know about the incident?

At least 33 people have been killed after the building collapsed, saidCelestine Ketcha Courtes, the housing and urban development minister. She also said that more bodies wererecovered from the rubble on Monday morning and some of those in the hospitalsuccumbed to their injuries.

According to officials, the collapse took place around 1:00 am (local time) in the north of the city. The incident occurred in Douala, in the western Littoral region of Cameroon which is also the country’s most populous city.

The four-storey building located in the city’s eastern Ange Raphael neighbourhood caved in and fell onto another, smaller residential building, said local officials.

A report by BBC said distressed neighbours heard screams and frantically tried to dig people out after the collapse.“We heard people screaming…and struggled to help some out of the wreckage, but could not do it with our spades and (garden) hoes,” said Gaspard Ndoppo, who lives near the collapsed buildings, as per the Associated Press.

According to reports, the military’s fire brigade, the Red Cross and other rescue services were working on the scene. Officials reported that more than 200 people occupy both impacted buildings. However, it is unclearhow many were home at the time of the collapse.

The reason for the building collapse was not immediately clear, however, local residents said it looked deteriorated with exposed and worn-out rods, reported Reuters.

About the victims

The city’s Laquintinie hospital said it had taken in 13 patients while two others – a girl aged three and a young woman aged 19 – had passed away, reported AFP. It added that three other children among those injured were receiving emergency paediatric treatment.

In the update on Monday,Courtes said five of the more than20 people injured are in critical condition.

Samuel Dieudonne Ivaha Diboua, the governor of the surrounding Littoral region, on Sunday,saidthat a total of 31 people were affected.

“The casualty figures may be higher. Rescue workers, assisted by Cameroon government troops, are still digging the wreckage to see if more bodies can be recovered,” said the governor of the Littoral region.

He also told the press that the situation was under control and that search and rescue teams would make sure that no one remained under the rubble.

Building collapses not uncommon in Douala

In 2016, five people were killed under similar circumstances in Douala. At the time officials had blamed the poor state of repairs and apparent violations of building regulations. In June of that year, local authorities identified 500 buildings in danger of collapse.

Notably, Douala’s city council is currently in the midst of demolishing houses in high-risk zones susceptible to floods or landslides. However, the building that collapsed on Sunday was not marked for demolition.

(With inputs from agencies)

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