A building in Mansourieh, consisting of five floors, collapsed due to severe stormy and rainy weather since yesterday. It has been reported that nine individuals remain trapped under the rubble, while five have been rescued. Civil defense teams, the Red Cross, and the army are working to rescue those still trapped. Rescue teams rushed to the site in an attempt to save the individuals inside.
Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi arrived at the site of the collapsed building, stating, "I have been in contact with the relevant authorities to take the necessary steps to rescue people and evacuate surrounding buildings to prevent a larger disaster, and we do not want to obstruct the rescue efforts."
In this context, MP Razi Al-Haj mentioned from in front of the collapsed building to "Warda," "This is not the first time such a disaster has occurred," affirming that "there is shared responsibility among the people, the state, and the relevant authorities." He urged security forces to expedite the "rescue operations and not get distracted by determining responsibilities on the ground," indicating that "an investigation must be opened regarding what happened, and the priority is how to rescue those trapped under the rubble."
Al-Haj also revealed via the "X" platform the "condition of the columns in the Mansourieh building that collapsed on August 16, 2023," stating, "The municipality sent a warning for evacuation... conducting an investigation and determining responsibilities is essential after saving the lives under the rubble."
A member of the Mansourieh Municipality, Kamil Al-Haj, told "Warda," "We warned the residents of the building about the existence of two cracked columns, according to an expert from the municipality, and a report was made regarding the condition of the building and handed over to the tenants, but they committed to repairing it themselves." He added, "We warned them to carry out restoration works, thus we hold them fully civilly and criminally responsible."
One local resident, in a call to "Warda," stated that "the civil defense managed to rescue three individuals from under the building debris, while three others remain trapped," noting that "there are no casualties reported so far."
The General Directorate of Civil Defense in the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities announced in a statement that "trained civil defense personnel capable of executing rescue and relief operations from under the rubble have headed from multiple centers to the specified site, beginning their work alongside other rescue organizations, managing to save three citizens from among the rubble." They added, "Meanwhile, the team is working to penetrate inside the building and has managed to rescue a lady with whom contact was made."
Furthermore, the General Director of Civil Defense, Brigadier Raymond Khattar, who was present at the site, was instructed to supervise the operations, and relevant agencies were tasked with conducting an accurate count of the building's residents and their phone numbers for communication purposes to create a final list of missing persons and their identities.
Brigadier Khattar explained in an interview with MTV that "there were two cracked columns, and as a result of the floods, the building collapsed, and we evacuated the adjacent building." He confirmed that "he is in constant communication with Minister of Interior Bassam Mawlawi," stating that he "would increase the number of personnel to attempt to reach everyone under the rubble."
One of the owners of the collapsed building revealed that "the building cracked after the Beirut explosion and was immediately restored, and some claimed they heard a loud noise this morning."
