Fourteen people have died following the collapse of a residential building in Tripoli, northern Lebanon, officials confirmed Monday. The incident, which occurred in the Bab Al-Tabbaneh neighborhood, has prompted a national outpouring of grief and renewed scrutiny of the city’s aging infrastructure.
According to the Director General of Civil Defense, Major General Emad Khoury, rescue operations concluded with a final death toll of 14 and 8 individuals rescued. The building, an older structure comprised of two sections each containing six apartments, housed approximately 22 residents at the time of the collapse. Search teams worked around the clock, while authorities evacuated neighboring buildings fearing further collapses.
Tripoli’s Mayor, Abdul Hamid Karami, described the city as “disaster-stricken” due to the prevalence of dilapidated buildings threatening the lives of thousands. He indicated that the scale of the problem exceeds the municipality’s capacity to address it alone. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam affirmed the government’s commitment to providing housing allowances to those displaced by the collapse, characterizing the event as a “humanitarian catastrophe resulting from accumulated neglect.”
The collapse marks the second such incident in Tripoli within a two-week period, highlighting the precarious state of many buildings in the city. Bab Al-Tabbaneh, one of Tripoli’s poorest districts, bore the brunt of the disaster.
In response to the crisis, Mayor Karami announced the establishment of an emergency fund to support the reinforcement of vulnerable buildings. Jordan has also offered assistance to Lebanon following the incident.
The situation remains fluid as authorities assess the extent of damage and begin to address the long-term housing needs of those affected. The Lebanese government has yet to announce a comprehensive plan for addressing the broader issue of aging and unsafe buildings across the country.
