Prince Raad, Issawi offer condolences to victims’ families of collapsed building in Zarqa

AMMAN — HRH Prince Raad, the Regent, on Saturday offered condolences to the families of victims who died in the collapse of their residential building in Zarqa’s Ghweirieh neighbourhood.

Deputising for His Majesty King Abdullah, Royal Court Secretary General Yousef Issawi on Thursday also visited the bereaved families, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

On Wednesday morning, a three-storey residential building collapsed in Al Ghuwairiya neighbourhood in Zarqa, 22km east of Amman, killing five persons and injuring 10 others.

The incident caused the death of Muhammad Ahmad Ibrahim, Ahmad Muhammad Yousef, Fatima Muhammad Noufal, Hanaan Muhammad Ahmad and Layan Ayman Abdulrahman, according to Petra. 

Civil Defence Department (CDD) personnel rescued seven people who were trapped during the first few hours of the collapse and found the bodies of five people during an operation that lasted for several hours.

CDD said the operation took longer than usual because rescuers were unable to use heavy machinery, fearing that it might lead to more collapses. The department used thermographic cameras and search and rescue dogs to find persons buried in the building’s rubble.

Prime Minister Omar Razzaz, Interior Minister Samir Mubaidin and CDD Director Maj. Gen. Mustafa Bazaiah were at the site during the rescue operation. They later visited the injured and checked on their condition.

The prime minister directed the concerned agencies to investigate the incident, stressing his government's commitment to provide shelter for the inhabitants of the building.

“The most likely reason for the collapse is the reconstruction work that was taking place on the ground floor,” a CDD source told Petra on Wednesday.

According to the CDD, the owner of the building filed a request for reconstruction which was denied by the municipality on the grounds that the building could not handle the removal of the ground-floor walls as the structure dates back to 1970.

The building’s owner is at risk of being charged by the municipality and the building’s residents with reconstruction without a warrant, as well as with the deaths and injuries that resulted from the collapse, according to officer Hamad Dweiri of the Zarqa police department.