Scores hurt as Beirut building collapses
A seven-storey building collapsed in Beirut today, with first reports indicating scores of casualties, security officials said.
The building in Mazraa district ‘‘turned into a pile of rubble’’, crushing cars on the Corniche Mazraa, the officials said.
The building was a school that was under renovation. The victims were workers and passers-by as the Corniche is a busy thoroughfare, the officials said.
Lebanese television showed rescue workers removing at least five people from the site on stretchers.
More than 50 police officers tackled the rubble, looking for survivors.
Police also halted weekend rush-hour traffic on the Corniche to allow rescuers and ambulances to reach the site, the officials added.
The cause of the collapse was not known.
