Death toll reaches 9 in Jabal Luweibdeh building collapse

• Rescue teams pull out baby, man alive from rubble 
• 3 detained in connection with building collapse 

AMMAN — Search and rescue teams retrieved another body from the rubble of the collapsed building in Amman’s Jabal Luweibdeh neighbourhood, the Public Security Directorate (PSD) announced on Wednesday night, reporting nine deaths and 10 injuries, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

The death toll remained at nine as of press time Wednesday night.

According to hospital directors, the number of injured has reached 14.

As the desperate rescue mission continued, search and rescue teams on Wednesday found a baby, who is less than one year old, alive under the rubble of the collapsed building, the PSD announced. 

Rescue teams administered first aid to the baby, who was transferred to hospital, the directorate added. 

Rescue teams also managed to evacuate an individual alive from the collapsed building after an arduous 20-hour operation, the PSD announced on Wednesday morning.

A PSD statement said that it took rescue teams 20 hours to pull out the eighth injured person, who was identified as a man in his 50s. 

Four other buildings close to the collapsed residential building have been evacuated. Residents of these buildings were taken to places deemed by officials to be safe, Hussam Najdawi, GAM’s Deputy Director for district and environmental affairs, said on Wednesday. 

The collapsed building is around 50 years old, he said, highlighting that no reports related to cracks had been made by the owner or the residents of the building, Petra reported.

The Public Safety Committee on Tuesday held a meeting chaired by the governor, in which decisions made to spare the residents of buildings near the site of the collapse any additional risk, he noted.  

Meanwhile, three people have been detained at a correctional and rehabilitation centre by the order of the Amman Prosecutor General pending further investigation into the building collapse case.

The three include the heir of the owner of the building, who was responsible for supervising the property, the maintenance supervisor and a maintenance technician, Petra reported. 

Attorney General Hassan Abdullat told Petra that the Prosecutor General charged defendants with four charges of manslaughter and seven charges of causing harm. 

Abdullat added that the Prosecutor General will listen to testimonies of families of the deceased and the injured and will form a technical committee to identify the cause of the collapse and determine those responsible. Investigation is still ongoing.