CDD concludes search operation at Zarqa’s collapsed building after 5 bodies found

AMMAN — Civil Defence Department (CDD) cadres on Thursday concluded a search and rescue operation at the building that collapsed on Wednesday morning in Zarqa governorate, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

A three-storey residential building collapsed in Al Ghuwairiya neighbourhood of Zarqa, 22km east of Amman, killing five persons and injuring ten others.

CDD personnel have rescued seven people who were trapped during the first few hours of the collapse, and found the bodies of five dead people during an operation that continued for several hours.

The department used thermographic cameras and search and rescue dogs to find persons buried in the building’s rubble, according to Petra.

CDD said that this took longer than usual because rescuers were unable to use heavy machinery, fearing that it might lead to more collapses, according to Petra.

During the operation, Prime Minister Omar Razzaz, Interior Minister Samir Mubaidin and CDD Director Maj. Gen. Mustafa Bazaiah were at the site.

Afterwards, they visited the injured and checked on their condition.

The prime minister also directed the concerned agencies to investigate the incident, saying his government is committed to providing residence for the inhabitants of the building.

“The most likely reason for the collapse of the building was the reconstruction work on the ground floor,” a CDD source told Petra on Wednesday.

According to the CDD, the owner of the building filed a request for reconstruction which was denied by the municipality on the grounds that the building could not handle the removal of the ground-floor walls as the structure dates back to 1970.

The building’s owner is at risk of being charged by the municipality and the building’s residents with reconstruction without a warrant, as well as with the deaths and injuries that resulted from the collapse, according to officer Hamad Dweiri of the Zarqa police department.