Lebanon: 15 dead in building collapse in northern city of Tripoli

The toll in a building collapse in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli on Sunday rose to 15 dead, state media reported, as rescuers searched for survivors in the second such incident in weeks.

The state-run National News Agency reported "the collapse of an old building" in Tripoli's Bab al-Tabbaneh neighbourhood, the poorest in the impoverished city, adding that security personnel evacuated adjacent buildings fearing further collapses.

Civil defence chief Imad Khreish told reporters in front of the building that "the search and rescue operations have ended for now", noting that eight residents were rescued alive, while "unfortunately 15 victims died".

Security personnel had evacuated adjacent buildings fearing further collapses.

Mayor Abdel Hamid Karimeh on Sunday declared Tripoli a "disaster-stricken city" due to unsafe buildings threatening the lives of "thousands of our people".

This latest disaster came after another deadly building collapse in Tripoli late last month.

Local media showed images of residents and rescue workers trying to remove debris with basic equipment and their bare hands.

It came after another deadly building collapse in Tripoli late last month.

President Joseph Aoun requested all emergency services mobilise "to assist in the rescue operations and provide shelter for the building's residents and those of neighbouring buildings that were evacuated" as a precaution, a statement from his office said.

Lebanon is dotted with derelict buildings, and many inhabited structures are in an advanced state of disrepair.

Many buildings were built illegally, especially during the 1975-1990 civil war, while some owners have added new floors to existing apartment blocks with no permits.

In 2024, rights group Amnesty International said "thousands of people" were still living in unsafe buildings in Tripoli more than a year after the structures were weakened by a major earthquake centred on Turkey and neighbouring Syria.

It said that even before the February 2023 quake, Tripoli residents "had raised the alarm about their dire housing situation, caused by decades of neglect and contractors' lack of compliance with safety regulations".

It said the situation was compounded by Lebanon's yearslong economic crisis "that has robbed residents of the means to afford repairs or alternative housing" and urged authorities to "urgently... assess the safety of buildings across the country".