Egyptian rockslide toll passes 70

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The number of people confirmed dead after a major rockfall in Egypt has risen to more than 70, officials say

Giant boulders tumbled down a cliff onto houses on the outskirts of Cairo on Saturday, devastating the eastern Duwayqa district.

There are fears many more people may be buried beneath the rubble, which is more than 15m (49ft) deep.

Angry residents have clashed with the authorities over what they say is an inefficient response to the disaster.

State media report more than 100 families have been moved to new homes.

The government has announced a review of housing settlements built without permits.

'Horror'

It is unclear what caused the rockslide but residents have blamed quarry work.

At least eight boulders - some estimated to weigh about 70 tonnes - fell from the towering Muqattam cliffs on to the houses below.

<a class="" href="/1/hi/in_pictures/7602972.stm">Aftermath in pictures</a>

More than 70 people were injured in the incident.

Rescuers - some with heavy lifting machinery but some using only their bare hands - have been searching for survivors, but no-one has been pulled alive from the rubble since Saturday.

The Mena news agency quoted eyewitnesses as saying angry local residents threw stones at dignitaries who visited the scene on Tuesday.

Local people say they believe there are many more victims trapped or missing than suggested by the official government estimates.

A six-storey building below the cliffs had been completely obliterated, residents said.

"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."

One resident who spoke to the BBC said the local authority had been breaking rocks on the cliffs, which she suspected caused the landslide.