5 killed in Egypt building collapse

Five people have been killed after a 12-storey residential building collapsed in the Egyptian city of Alexandria.

Egyptian rescuers look for victims In the debris of a twelve story building after it collapsed in Alexandria, Egypt, Monday, Dec. 24. (AP Photo)

Rescue workers pulled five bodies from the rubble and dug out two survivors. Rescuers say as many as 30 others remain buried and they expect the death toll to rise.

An operation area has been set up to coordinate rescue efforts and local hospitals have been told to expect more injured.

The 36-unit building suddenly crumbled as workers were doing maintenance work.

Sources say the owner of the building built a seven-storey building in 1982 without a permit and later secured a license, but then illegally built another five storeys.