Eight-month-old baby among the victims of Beirut building collapse

▶ Disaster is the second in Choueifat in less than 10 days and the fourth across Lebanon this month

At least four people were killed when a residential building collapsed in Choueifat, a suburb south of Beirut on Monday.

Four others were rescued overnight, local authorities told The National.

The building, which collapsed due to a landslide following several days of heavy rainfall, was home to two Syrian families.

Among the dead were an eight-month-old baby boy and his parents, said Amin Taqo, a neighbour and relative of the family who lived two buildings away.

Rescue workers yesterday morning said operations had come to a close after they had worked tirelessly to dig people out from the rubble.

“All that’s left is to bring in the bulldozers and clear the debris,” an official for the Public Health Authority told The National.

“When the building fell it damaged the structure of the neighbouring building and that one might very well fall once we remove all the rubble.”

The two buildings next to the collapsed block were immediately evacuated after the incident.

By midmorning yesterday, families residing in nearby buildings were transferring their possessions from their homes to alternative shelters.

Imad Hasmous, a construction worker living with his family in an adjacent building, carried bags of personal belongings from his thirdfloor apartment.

He told The National that he had long feared a collapse. “I noticed the mountain had been gradually crumbling over the last year,” Mr Hasmous said.

“I warned the building owner about the impending danger but he dismissed it.”

Mr Hasmous said he had tried to move his family to a safer apartment but the rent was too high. Residents said they were unsure whether the collapse was due to a natural disaster or shoddy construction.

“It was God’s will,” Mr Taqo, 28, said tearfully as he stood near the flattened home of his relatives. He said he and his family would take shelter temporarily in Choueifat Cultural Centre until they found a new place to live.

“I used to see them every day,” he said referring to his deceased cousin Mohammad, his wife and their baby.

“On most days we ate dinner together. They either came to our house or we went to theirs.”

He said he was at home when he heard the nearby building collapse. His family evacuated their residence after feeling tremors in their own building.

“The last time I saw Mohammad was when he was coming home from work. He honked his van’s horn as he passed me and parked under his building. His van is under the rubble now,” Mr Taqo said.

A pink bicycle protruded from a pile of debris, with a couch partially visible behind it under a collapsed roof.

Local officials said the foundation of the four-storey building was deemed unsafe.

Two years ago, the municipality instructed tenants to relocate to alternative accommodation.

However, despite this directive from the authorities, the owner proceeded to rent out the flats to Syrian families.

This marks the second building collapse in Choueifat in less than 10 days and the fourth such incident across Lebanon this month.

Earlier in the month, a five-storey building collapsed in the vicinity but residents were able to escape and no casualties were reported.

On Sunday, a two-storey building collapsed in the Beirut suburb of Al Rihab.

Similar incidents, often attributed to inadequate structural integrity and a lack of adherence to building regulations, occur frequently in Lebanon.

In November 2022, tragedy struck in Tripoli as a school pupil died when a section of her classroom’s ceiling collapsed.

By midmorning, families in nearby buildings were transferring their possessions to alternative shelters