Jordan ends rescue work at collapsed building site

AMMAN: Jordanian officials on Saturday said they halted rescue efforts at the ruins of a collapsed four-storey building ater pulling out the 14th and what is believed to be final victim of the disaster.

“Rescue teams were able to extract one dead person on Saturday, the death toll now stands at 14,” said Amer Al Sartawi, a public security spokesman.

The discovery of the body, which medical sources said was a woman, means that all missing had been accounted for, marking the end to search efforts.

It wasn’t clear what caused the collapse on Tuesday of the building in Amman, Jordan’s capital. Authorities have arrested the building’s owner and two maintenance workers.

At least 10 people were injured, and an infant was rescued from the rubble earlier this week.

Officials said that ater recovering the remains of a missing woman from the rubble on Saturday, there were no more reports of missing people.

Rescuers will remain at the site until the debris is cleared.

The building was located in Jabal Al Weibdeh, an older district of the Jordanian capital that is popular among wealthier residents and expatriates but also includes some poorer areas.

Amman public prosecutor Hassan Al Abdallat had told the official Petra News Agency that three people had been charged with multiple counts of causing death and harm.

He said his office would form a technical commitee to determine the cause of the collapse and identify those responsible.

State media identified the suspects as one of the building’s owners, its maintenance contractor and its maintenance technician.

Brigadier General Hatem Jaber, director of the civil defence department, said rescuers were working on the assumption that everyone trapped inside is still alive. “We work with cautious optimism,” he said.

Prime Minister Bisher Al Khasawneh and several government ministers inspected the site on Tuesday.