ABIDJAN, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Eight people were killed after a building under construction collapsed on Saturday in the Koumassi commune in southern Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire's Military Fire Brigade (GSPM) said on Sunday.
The GSPM said in a statement that four additional victims were discovered during the latest search operations, bringing the provisional death toll to eight after four victims were initially recovered from the rubble.
At around 6 a.m. local time (0600 GMT) on Saturday, a five-story residential building under construction collapsed in the Soweto neighborhood of Koumassi.
According to the Ministry of Construction, preliminary findings suggest that the collapse may have been caused by structural deficiencies linked to load-bearing calculations. The building reportedly gave way following concrete pouring work on the fifth-floor slab, with heavy rainfall in the preceding hours worsening the situation.
The GSPM said rescue operations, supported by a canine unit and heavy machinery, are still underway to ensure that no victims remain trapped under the rubble.
The Ministry of Construction said administrative and judicial procedures have been launched to determine responsibility for the incident.
Building collapses have become recurrent in Abidjan in recent years. In August 2024, the collapse of a mosque under construction in the Cocody commune left eight dead and two injured. In 2022, seven people were killed when a seven-story building under construction collapsed in the Treichville commune of Abidjan, while six others died in the collapse of an occupied four-story building in Cocody.
In response to the recurring incidents, the Ivorian government in 2024 established a special inspection brigade, enforced the operational use of compliance certificates tied to completion approvals issued by consulting engineers, and strengthened administrative sanctions and legal action against property owners involved. Enditem
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