- Title: Fifteen dead in building collapse in Mali's capital
- Date: 2nd September 2019
- Summary: BAMAKO, MALI (SEPTEMBER 2, 2019) (REUTERS) CHILDREN STANDING IN FRONT OF RUBBLE VARIOUS OF RUBBLE PART OF DAMAGED BUILDING RUBBLE PEOPLE LOOKING AT COLLAPSED BUILDING MAN TALKING, LOOKING ON VARIOUS OF PEOPLE STANDING IN FRONT OF COLLAPSED BUILDING (SOUNDBITE) (Bambara) LOCAL RESIDENT, BOUMARA KONE, SAYING: "Since the start of the construction of the building, we warned the owner and told him the house didn't meet the standards. I've met the owner several times and I've told my advisors several times to meet with him. I even delegated one of my advisors to alert the local authorities. The owner has been summoned several times but he never responded. One day we set up a delegation to meet him, the local authorities told him to stop all works on the construction site. He decided to continue and here is the result of his work. Even his children were against what he was doing, his first son was in the delegation who summoned him." PEOPLE STANDING IN FRONT OF COLLAPSED BUILDING VARIOUS OF RUBBLE BED COVERS AND MATTRESS LYING IN THE RUBBLE SHOE LYING IN THE RUBBLE
- Embargoed: 16th September 2019 17:29
- Keywords: building collapse rescue injured victims Mali
- Location: BAMAKO, MALI
- City: BAMAKO, MALI
- Country: Mali
- Topics: Disaster/Accidents
- Reuters ID: LVA002AUYUQMF
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Fifteen people were confirmed dead after rescuers spent the day searching the remains of a three-storey building which collapsed in Mali's capital Bamako, the Mali Ministry of Security said on Monday (September 2).
The residential building, which was under construction but was inhabited, fell down in the early hours of Sunday (September 1), and the death toll rose throughout the day as firefighters extracted men, women and children from the rubble.
Rescue crews arrived in the early hours of Sunday morning to extract people out of the building and worked until late in the evening. People cheered when the rescue teams pulled out a 4-year old girl.
Twenty-six people survived, Major Baba Cisse, a spokesperson for the minister of security, told Reuters on the phone. Most of those sustained injuries, state radio ORTM reported.
The government said a lack of respect for construction standards was the likely cause of the collapse.
A neighbour on the site on Monday said he had tried several times to stop the owner from building because he said he did not believe he was conforming to building standards.
Authorities launched an investigation into the causes of the collapse, the government said on Twitter.
Building collapses are common in Bamako, one of the fastest-growing cities in the world, where a construction boom has driven many to be built without permits.
(Production: Yvonne Bell, Arouna Sisoxxo) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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