A second deadly building collapse in weeks in Lebanon’s impoverished north has killed nine people, prompting the mayor to declare Tripoli a disaster-stricken city.
TRIPOLI: The death toll from a building collapse in Lebanon’s northern city of Tripoli has risen to nine, a civil defence official said on Sunday.
This marks the second such deadly incident in the impoverished city in recent weeks.
Rescue teams worked through the night searching for survivors in the rubble of the old building in the Bab al-Tabbaneh neighbourhood, the city’s poorest area. Six people were rescued and taken to hospital, according to civil defence director general Imad Khreish.
The building consisted of two blocks containing six apartments each. Residents estimated around 22 people were inside when it collapsed, Khreish told local media.
Security forces evacuated adjacent buildings over fears of further structural failures.
Local activist Jumana al-Shahal described the incident as “a testament to the accumulated neglect of this forgotten city”. Mayor Abdel Hamid Karimeh declared Tripoli a disaster-stricken city due to the prevalence of unsafe buildings.
“Thousands of our people in Tripoli are threatened due to years of neglect,” Karimeh told journalists. “The situation is beyond the capabilities of the Tripoli municipality.”
Angry young men took to the streets on motorbikes following the collapse, with some heading to politicians’ offices and vandalising barriers, the state-run National News Agency reported.
The building was not on a list of structures at imminent risk, according to local media. In January, Tripoli municipality statistics indicated 105 buildings required immediate evacuation warnings.
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam decried a “humanitarian catastrophe” caused by “long years of accumulated neglect”. His office said he summoned the justice and interior ministers for an emergency meeting and promised housing allowances for evacuated residents.
Justice Minister Adel Nassar ordered the public prosecutor in the north to open an immediate investigation.
Lebanon is dotted with derelict and illegally constructed buildings, many built during the 1975-1990 civil war or with unauthorised additional floors. A recent report by Public Works Studio cited unplanned urban expansion and lack of construction oversight as key causes for collapses.
Rights group Amnesty International warned in 2024 that thousands in Tripoli still lived in unsafe buildings, a situation worsened by Lebanon’s prolonged economic crisis which left residents unable to afford repairs or alternative housing.
