Building collapses in Jordan, killing five and wounding 15 others

A four-story residential building in Jordan’s capital, Amman, has collapsed, killing five people, and wounding 15 others, officials said.

The toll from the collapse in the city’s Jabal al-Weibdeh district “has risen to five dead and 15 injured”, security spokesman Amer al-Sartawi said in a statement on Tuesday.

He had earlier told state television that civil defense forces were being supported by teams from the regional security command and the gendarmerie and that rescue efforts were continuing.

The neighborhood is known for its cafes, bars and artistic venues, and is popular with expatriates and locals alike.

A source at the civil defense service said there remained “a number of people trapped in the collapsed building”, without providing an exact figure.

It was not immediately clear what brought down the building, which state media said was an older structure.

When asked about what had caused the collapse, Faisal Shuboul, Jordan’s minister of state for media affairs, said:

“We do not know, it is an old building and a search is ongoing to find out the reason behind it. The prime minister asked the mayor of Amman and officials to find out the reason behind the collapse of the building.”

Prime Minister Bisher al-Khasawneh directed authorities to investigate the cause of the collapse.

Khasawneh and senior members of the government were seen at the site as a major rescue operation was underway to evacuate people caught under the debris.

Agencies