At least nine people succumbed to the heavy rubble of a five-story apartment building as it collapsed in Cairo, the capital of Egypt, according to the rescue workers who dug through the rubble.

According to the state-run MENA news agency, at least nine bodies were discovered Monday under the building’s rubble in Cairo’s Hadaeq el-Qubbah neighbourhood, about 3.2 kilometres (2 miles) from the city centre.

Authorities reportedly evacuated a nearby apartment building and transported four survivors to the hospital, according to MENA.

The Egyptian Ministry of Social Solidarity has reportedly announced that the families of the nine victims of the incident will receive 60,000 Egyptian pounds ($1939).

The ministry further stated that it would aid the injured and was monitoring any property damage in the area.

Police were reportedly stationed nearby, according to local reports, as rescuers combed through the rubble in search of possible survivors. It was not immediately clear what caused the building to collapse.

In Egypt, however, poor building practises and a lack of maintenance are pervasive in shantytowns, impoverished city neighbourhoods, and rural areas. As a result, building collapses are a common occurrence, Al-Jazeera reported.

Four people perished and 13 others were injured in a building collapse on Sunday in northern Egypt, while in June, a 13-story building in Alexandria, a coastal city, collapsed, killing 10 people inside.

Additionally, when an apartment building in Cairo collapsed in 2021, at least 18 people were killed and numerous others were hurt.

After decades of lax enforcement, the government has recently tried to crack down on unauthorised structures. Authorities are also constructing new towns and neighbourhoods to house those who are currently residing in high-risk areas.

Developers looking to make more money frequently violate building permits in large cities like Cairo and Alexandria, which is a Mediterranean city. Unauthorised governmental additions of additional floors are frequent.