12 succumb to injuries from disastrous building collapse in Cameroon

Firefighters and local authorities on Sunday reported that at least 12 people were killed after a building collapsed in Cameroon's business hub, Douala, while 21 others were injured.

The authorities also reported that five out of the 21 injured victims of the sudden collapse of the four-storey residential building were in critical condition.

The four-storey block collapsed onto another residential building around 1:00am (0000 GMT) in the northern region of the city, a senior fire brigade official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Meanwhile, Charles Elie Zang Zang, a Douala municipal councillor, added that rescue services were searching through the rubble for potential survivors of the tragedy.

Additionally, Doualas Laquintinie Hospital stated that it had taken in 13 patients and out of whom two — a three-year-old girl and a 19-year-old woman — had died.

The hospital added that three other children among those who were injured were receiving emergency paediatric treatment.

This is not the first time a building has collapsed in the city.

Previously, five people died in similar circumstances in Douala in 2016 when authorities blamed the poor state of repairs and apparent violations of building regulations.

Moreover, in June of that year, local authorities identified 500 buildings in danger of collapse.

The incident comes after another building collapsed in Recife, Brazil resulting in the death of at least 14 people, including two children, ages five and eight, earlier in July.