Cairo apartment building collapses, killing at least 16 people

March 27 (UPI) -- A multi-story apartment building collapsed Saturday in Cairo, Egypt killing several people.

A security source told Ahram Online that at least 16 people died in the collapse of the building located in Cairo's Gesr al-Suez district, and Egypt's state news agency reported late Saturday that the death toll had climbed to 18, Al-Jazeera reported.

Civil protection units continue to remove debris to search for other victims, the Cairo governorate said in a statement, Ahram Online reported.

Twenty-four were injured from the building collapse, the governorate said in a statement earlier, 18 of whom left the hospital after medical treatment, and another six still being treated in the hospital.

The governorate added that it has formed a committee to inspect whether nearby buildings were impacted by the collapse.

Building collapses are not uncommon in Egypt.

In 2014, 18 people died after another Cairo building collapsed because its owner had illegally added several floors to the building.

The year before, an apartment building collapsed in Alexandria, killing 24 injuring 12. Authorities said that collapse was caused by poor maintenance and building specification violations.