Death toll from building collapse in Cameroon grows

Authorities said at least 34 people died in the event on Sunday, including children.

According to local authorities, the number of individuals confirmed dead after a four-story building collapsed in Cameroon’s industrial city of Douala on Sunday has grown to 34. More than 50 others have been confirmed injured and are awaiting medical attention, including five in critical condition.

The apartment block, which officials said contained roughly 160 people, toppled onto a smaller residential block with 60 residents.

According to reports on Tuesday, the country’s minister of housing and urban development, Celestine Ketcha Courtes, stated that the tower was built without a permit.

Courtes, who visited the area on Monday, told reporters that an investigation has been begun and that rescue attempts would continue to assure that no one is still trapped beneath the ruins.

Since the collapse, Cameroonian President Paul Biya has ordered the removal of badly built, illegal buildings in the port city of Douala.

Residents have been waiting for the rescue of relatives who are feared to be buried under the rubble.

One resident told RT that his sister was inside the building when it collapsed, but she has yet to be located.

“It’s too hard for me because I lost my big brother, his wife, and his child,” another local said to RT.

According to reports, emergency personnel are still searching for survivors among the rubble.