The fifth body found while anger rises after the collapse of a deadly building in Marseille, Europe News and feature stories



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PARIS (AFP) – French authorities have promised to inspect all Marseille buildings "unfit for habitation", rising anger following the collapse of two buildings in the city Mediterranean, where one fears the death of up to eight people.

A fifth body was found Wednesday morning under the ruins of dilapidated buildings that collapsed Monday morning in Noailles, a popular neighborhood in the heart of the port city.

Among the dead, two women and three men, said prosecutor Xavier Tarabeux AFP.

According to the authorities, five to eight people may have died in the collapse. Interior Minister Christophe Castaner told lawmakers in Paris that he had ordered a building audit before an "ambitious program to ensure security", in collaboration with the Marseille authorities. .

"Nearly 6,000 properties have been identified as threatened" in the city, he said, representing some 44,000 homes in working-clbad neighborhoods, calling the situation unacceptable.

The rescuers delicately sought what was left of the buildings. A third adjoining building s' partly collapsed Monday night.

Residents said Tuesday that structural risks related to buildings and other similar buildings were widely known, but that city officials reacted little when they were alerted.

"Everyone knew the problems with the two buildings collapsed," said Patrick Lacoste, spokesman for a local housing action group. "People died for nothing, even though we knew it."

"It's a hell here, they know it's crap and now people are dying for nothing," said Toufik Ben Rhouma, a resident of the city.

"100% the fault of the town hall". "I have been living here for 10 years and I have never invited anyone to come and inspect my apartment," said a woman who identified herself as Sophie.

Her neighbor said that she had not seen any inspectors for 27 years. Tuesday afternoon, some residents returned home to neighboring buildings to store their belongings in bags and suitcases, some leaving their television with them, said an AFP reporter.

"THIS MIGHT BE MÉ" (19659002). the buildings were occupied, the other two being in such a bad state that they had been condemned.

The images taken by Google Maps in recent months showed that the facades of collapsed buildings had large cracks.

Nine of the ten apartments in one of the buildings, while a store occupied the ground floor

A young waiter looked at the scene with tears in his eyes, anxious to receive news of An Italian who lived in the building. "She was a great girl, she often came to study at the bar," he said without giving his name.

Abdou Ali, 34, came looking for his mother after she did not come to pick up her youngest son. from school on Monday afternoon. "I have not heard anything," he said, wandering among the rescuers.

Sophie Dorbeaux also told AFP that she had left the block Sunday night to stay with her parents because her door, like many others, did not open. or closed due to structural problems of the building.

"The walls had moved for several weeks and cracks had appeared," said the 25-year-old philosophy student. "It could have been me," she added, visibly shaken.

The authorities of the city of Marseille, who evacuated and relocated a hundred residents of neighboring buildings as a precaution, believe that heavy rains may have contributed to the collapse. This incident, rare in a large western city, has already provoked a political dispute over the quality of housing offered to the poorest inhabitants of Marseille. The neighborhood is home to many buildings in a similar state, some managed by slum owners.

The Marseille authorities launched a major plan to modernize the city center in 2011. A 2015 government report indicates, however, that nearly 100,000 Marseille residents lived. in dwellings dangerous to their health or safety.

"It is unthinkable that this happens in our time," said Christian Governor, owner of an apartment in a building in front of the collapsed building.

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