Jordanian rescuers spent a second day searching for survivors under the rubble of a building that collapsed in Amman, where nine people were confirmed dead, they said on Wednesday.
At least 25 people were inside a dilapidated apartment building in the Jordanian capital’s Webde district when it collapsed on Tuesday.
Civil defense rescue workers worked through the night to remove collapsed concrete roofs and pick up debris in a desperate search for survivors.
About a dozen people have been evacuated so far, some of them seriously injured, hospital sources said.
The government previously said at least ten people were believed to be still trapped under the rubble, and some of them may be alive.
Civil defense chief Hatem Jaber told reporters that search and rescue operations would continue until there was no hope of finding more survivors, adding that more than 350 rescuers were involved, along with drones and police dogs.
The last survivor to be pulled from the wreckage was a 5-month-old baby, whose condition is stable, a hospital source said.
Prime Minister Bisher al-Hassawna ordered an investigation as officials accused the building of being in a state of disrepair.
In connection with the incident, the prosecutor’s office opened a criminal case against a contractor who was drilling in the building a few days before it collapsed, and one of the building’s owners, a judicial source said on Wednesday.
