1 dead in Cairo building collapse

An apartment building in the Egyptian capital of Cairo collapses, killing a man, officials say.

Rescue workers who pulled out the man’s body are frantically trying to retrieve his wife from under the four-story building in the city’s Waraq neighborhood.

The rescuers had managed to speak with her through the rubble and she was still alive, the officials sat, speaking on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk to the media.

Authorities opened an investigation, the state-run MENA news agency reports.

It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the collapse but such incidents are common in Egypt, where shoddy construction is widespread in shantytowns, poor city neighborhoods and rural areas.

Last month, at least five women died when an apartment building collapsed in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria. Another building in Cairo collapsed in March, leaving at least 25 dead.