Hundreds Trapped As Police Wait For Heavy Machinery After Cairo Rockslide

Cairo, Egypt (AHN) - At least 18 people are dead and around 20 others wounded on Saturday after a massive rockslide brought down dozens of homes in northern Cairo, the officials with Egyptian emergency services said.

At least eight huge boulders of almost 70 tons broke off from Muqattam cliffs and buried some 50 homes along with hundreds of residents who are believe to be still trapped in the rubble.

The incident occurred in the Manshiyet Nasser shanty town in eastern Cairo where rockslides are frequent from the towering cliffs overlooking the district, some times hitting homes, causing them to collapse.

The United Nations Habitat, a human settlement program, has referred the town as "overcrowded" as there are almost 350,000 individuals living in the area of approximately 850 acres.

In a similar incident, around 30 residents were killed in a rockslide from the cliff in the same district in 1993.

Rescue workers including ambulances were rushed to the site of incident after the incident was reported at about 0900 local time (0700 GMT).

While police were still waiting for cranes and heavy lifting machinery to arrive and move the rocks so that they can help trapped people.

Witnesses said that at first the power went out, followed by a loud bang that shook the earth as the massive boulders tumbled down on the houses.