A building has collapsed in Qatar’s capital, Doha, killing at least one person, and rescuers are searching the rubble to check for survivors, authorities said.
Qatar’s interior ministry on Wednesday described the building as a four-story structure in Doha’s Bin Durham neighbourhood. It said rescuers found seven survivors, while the one person killed was inside the building at the time of the collapse.
Authorities offered no immediate explanation for the building’s collapse.
A video showing the collapsed building in Mansoura was shared by a member of the community.#Qatar #Doha #BreakingNews #BreakingQatarNews #Mansoura #AlMansoura #QatarDayNews #QatarDay pic.twitter.com/tTFkCEg9ev
— Qatar Day (@qatarday) March 22, 2023
Online videos showed car alarms sounding after the collapse, with one part of the building falling into another nearby.
A local resident told the Doha-based news website, The Peninsula, that “part of the structure collapsed onto a three-storeyed structure right beside it. The whole area has been cordoned off and no one is allowed to enter the buildings.”
Another resident told the news website that the building collapsed at approximately 8:18am (05:18 GMT). “The building has many Pakistani, Egyptian and Filipino families,” he said.
Qatar is home to a diverse foreign community that makes up 90 percent of the country’s population.
Such incidents are rare in the gas-rich Gulf country which is famed for its sleek highrises and clean streets.
The small nation hosted the FIFA World Cup last year, where it welcomed more than 1.2 million visitors during the tournament.
