FIVE bodies were found under rubble yesterday after two buildings collapsed a day earlier in the Guinean capital Conakry, the government said.

The buildings fell Monday around 1700 GMT in the southern suburb of Matoto, a government spokesman said in a statement Tuesday.

“The government offers its condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims and wishes a speedy recovery to the injured,” it said.

The Justice Ministry has ordered a judicial investigation, it said.

Rescue teams had recovered four bodies within 24 hours of the accident, Togba Isaac Kolie, head of the Civil Protection Service, told AFP earlier yesterday.

The accident happened as the construction team was starting to add a sixth floor to the building, one construction worker said.

“The Matoto tragedy occurred on a private developer’s building site. It is therefore not the State’s social housing construction projects… that are affected by the accident”, the statement said.

Building collapses are a frequent occurrence in the West African state. Kickbacks by owners to sidestep construction standards and inspections are among the suspected causes. – AFP, July 12, 2023.