At least nine people were killed and six others injured when two adjoining apartment buildings collapsed in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli on Sunday.
Civil Defence Director General Imad Khreish confirmed the death toll to local media, noting that the six rescued individuals had been hospitalised, reports Al Jazeera.
The structure consisted of two blocks, each containing six apartments. According to residents’ estimates, around 22 people were inside the buildings at the time of the collapse.
Search-and-rescue operations are currently underway, led by civil defence teams with support from the Lebanese Red Cross and various emergency relief agencies. Local residents also joined the rescue efforts, working to remove debris and create openings in the rubble to reach those trapped.
Tripoli Mayor Abdel Hamid Karimeh declared Tripoli a “disaster-stricken city” due to the prevalence of unsafe buildings.
“Thousands of our people in Tripoli are threatened due to years of neglect,” the Mayor said, adding that the crisis had exceeded the capabilities of the municipality.
Following the collapse, members of the Internal Security Forces and Tripoli municipal police evacuated several adjacent residential buildings amid fears of further structural failures, according to the state-run National News Agency (NNA).
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has ordered all emergency services to remain on high alert to assist in rescue operations and provide shelter for displaced residents. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said the government is prepared to provide housing allowances for those forced to evacuate.
The prime minister also urged political figures to refrain from exploiting the “humanitarian catastrophe” for political gain.
Reports from the scene indicate significant anger among residents, particularly in poor neighbourhoods where many structures are at risk of collapse.
Minister of Justice Adel Nassar has requested the public prosecutor in the north to initiate an immediate investigation into the incident.
This disaster follows another deadly building collapse in the city late last month. In January, Bassam Nablusi, head of the higher relief authority, cited municipal statistics indicating that 105 buildings in Tripoli required immediate evacuation notices.
Lebanon currently faces a crisis of derelict and inhabited structures in advanced states of disrepair. Many of these buildings were constructed illegally or had unauthorised floors added, particularly during the 1975-1990 civil war, while successive governments have been accused of neglecting the city’s infrastructure in the decades since.
