At least four people were killed Sunday when an apartment building collapsed in southern Egypt, a senior official said, trend reports citing al arabiya .

Building collapses are common in Egypt, where shoddy construction and a lack of maintenance are widespread in shantytowns, poor city neighborhoods and rural areas.

Rescue teams recovered four bodies from under the rubble of a five-story building in the Qulta neighborhood of the city of Assiut, said the province's Gov. Essam Saad. Assiut lies some 400 kilometers (250 miles) south of the capital Cairo.

He said in a statement that rescuers also recovered two survivors who were taken to a local hospital. Later Sunday, workers retrieved a third survivor, the province's media office said.

The governor added that authorities had evacuated surrounding apartment buildings, and dispatched bulldozers and other equipment to clear and secure the site.

MENAFN08012023000187011040ID1105398805