An old heritage building in Downtown Cairo’s vital Qasr Al-Nile Street partially collapsed, wounding five people.

The Cairo governorate announced that Civil defense and medical teams rescued 14 people from inside the building. Two people were provided medical assistance on-site, and two were transferred to Ahmed Maher Hospital in Cairo. Pictures show the building profoundly affected, yet no details have yet been provided on the extent of the damage. Eyewitnesses told “Egypt Watch” from the site of the collapse that “the building is destroyed,” and they were afraid that what was left of it would collapse.

Cairo Governor Khaled Abdel-Aal said at the site of the collapsed building that an order to restore the building was ignored twice and that a police report was filed as a result. The four-story building is located on 1,500 meters square, the governor said. Abdel-Aal confessed that the building is registered as a building with distinct architectural design and comprises two residential units and several administrative units, including a money exchange company on the ground floor, a factory, clothing stores, and a closed furniture store.

Eyewitnesses said that the government ignored restoring the building despite the fact that it is registered as a heritage building, and it is now blaming the residents.