Angry residents of a Cairo shantytown Sunday hurled stones and insults at authorities for "inefficient" rescue efforts after a massive rockslide flattened homes and buried whole families under the rubble. "Residents are throwing stones at police and shouting at civil defence officials. They are angry because they say rescue efforts are slow and inefficient," a security official told AFP.
Eyewitnesses said that they had been told to vacate the area and leave the rescue work to the experts, sparking anger among residents.
According to the health ministry, at least 31 people died and 47 were hurt in Saturday's disaster. By Sunday morning cranes and special heavy lifting machinery could still not access the scene, the security official said.
Rescuers worked through the night in a desperate race to find survivors of the tragedy, with some estimates putting the number of people still missing at 500.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak ordered the government to provide housing for those left homeless and issue compensation to families of the victims, the state-owned Al-Ahram reported. After an emergency meeting on Saturday evening, Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif said that there would be a full review of housing settlements built throughout the country without construction permits, known as "ashwaeeyat."
© 2008 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
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