ALEXANDRIA, Egypt — Shoddy materials, illegal construction and a culture of corruption were blamed Saturday for the deaths of more than three dozen people buried when a 12-story apartment building crumbled to the ground.
Six days after the collapse of the building in the Mediterranean coastal city of Alexandria, 35 bodies had been pulled from the rubble of the building, which was originally seven stories tall but had had five more added in recent years.
Alexandria’s governor, Gen. Adel Labib, said more bodies were still believed to be inside, all victims of Egypt’s worst building collapse in years.
The high death toll has prompted accusations that corrupt officials take bribes to allow illegal and subpar construction.
Illegal building is pervasive in Egypt, with large numbers of apartments put up without permits.
“Owners often bring influential people to reside in the apartments to protect the buildings from demolition orders,” Labib was quoted as saying by the government daily Al-Ahram.
Egyptian authorities have issued an arrest warrant for the owner of the building, who is believed to be in Kuwait, and have summoned local officials for questioning, local media has reported.
