Egyptians Hunt for Survivors After Rock Slide; Toll at 24

By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Sep 6, 2008 10:43 PM CDT
Egyptians Hunt for Survivors After Rock Slide; Toll at 24
Rescue workers search for victims after the rock slide.   (Mohammed Ahmed)

Egyptian rescuers continued to hunt for survivors tonight after massive boulders crashed down on a shantytown on the outskirts of Cairo. At least 24 are dead and many more buried under tons of rubble. Frantic residents in the sprawling Manshiyet Nasr slum were digging by hand and trying to lift huge rocks to reach any survivors, shouting out the names of relatives and family members trapped below.

Some survivors were using cell phones to call for help. At least 8 boulders, some the size of small houses, peeled away from the towering Muqattam cliffs and buried about 50 homes in the slum, one of many densely populated shantytowns ringing the city of 17 million. "My whole family is underneath the rock," sobbed one father. "I can't do anything. I just want my children back." (More Egypt stories.)

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