A four-story building collapsed early on Sunday morning in Douala, the commercial center of Cameroon, killing at least 12 people and injuring many more.
The higher structure seems to have fallen onto the smaller one, while the exact cause of the collapse remains unknown.
On Sunday evening, emergency personnel were still on the site. The Littoral region’s governor is Samuel Ivaha Diboua.
“A 4-storey house collapsed and we recorded 31 people, 12 of whom died,” he said.
“The others are currently in hospital receiving medical treatment.”
The number of fatalities may increase as rescue personnel explore the two apartment complexes’ charred remains.
Emergency personnel did not respond until the early hours of the morning, according to locals who stated the incident happened around midnight.
A worker who had been repairing the building said: “I was sleeping and received a call at about five past midnight but I didn’t pick it up.
“At about 00:30 I woke up and realized people had been trying to reach me. Then I heard the news which is so tragic.
“There were some signs of problems but we were working on it, we were working on the perimeter of the building.”
One neighbourhood hospital reported treating 13 cases related to the catastrophe and recording two fatalities, including “a three-year-old girl and a 19-year-old girl.”
