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Deadly rockslide hits Cairo homes | Deadly rockslide hits Cairo homes |
(20 minutes later) | |
At least 18 people have been killed by a rockslide which destroyed homes in Cairo, emergency services say. | |
Dozens of houses in the shanty town east of central Cairo were hit by huge boulders and rocks, reports said. | |
Witnesses said a six-storey building in the impoverished district below the Muqattam hills had been completely reduced to rubble. | Witnesses said a six-storey building in the impoverished district below the Muqattam hills had been completely reduced to rubble. |
Some people are believed to be still trapped in the rubble and police have cordoned off the area. | Some people are believed to be still trapped in the rubble and police have cordoned off the area. |
Reports said that at least eight boulders - each estimated to weigh about 70 tonnes - had fallen from the towering cliffs overlooking the district. | |
"It was horror," said Hassan Ibrahim Hassan, 80, whose house escaped the destruction. | "It was horror," said Hassan Ibrahim Hassan, 80, whose house escaped the destruction. |
"The power went out, we heard a loud bang like an earthquake and I thought this house had collapsed. I went out, I saw the whole mountain had collapsed." | "The power went out, we heard a loud bang like an earthquake and I thought this house had collapsed. I went out, I saw the whole mountain had collapsed." |
Witnesses described seeing hundreds of distraught people gathered around the site of the destruction, saying they had relatives and friends trapped under the rubble. | Witnesses described seeing hundreds of distraught people gathered around the site of the destruction, saying they had relatives and friends trapped under the rubble. |
The remains of the town were said to be covered by a thick layer of dust. | |
"I couldn't find my house this morning," said Mustafa Abdel-Fatah. "I could only see rocks on top of everything." |