The death toll from the collapse of a four-storey building in Cameroon’s commercial hub and largest city Douala, 210km (130 miles) west of the capital, Taounde, has risen to 37. The regional governor Samuel Dieudonne Ivaha Diboua, while speaking to journalists on Sunday said The block caved in and fell onto another, smaller residential building at around 1am local time (00:00 GMT).
“The casualty figures may be higher. Rescue workers, assisted by Cameroon government troops, are still digging the wreckage to see if more bodies can be recovered,” he added.
“The others are currently in hospital receiving medical treatment.
Speaking on the incident, the head of Cameroon’s order of Civil Engineers which regulates housing in the country, said “We’d been happy not to have had any such disaster for a while now - especially in Douala where the mayor is really trying to bring order.”
Residents living in the Ndogbong neighbourhood where the incident took place revealed they were in shock following the unfortunate event.
