Casbah building collapse kills woman in Algiers

A building collapse in the UNESCO-listed Casbah of Algiers killed a woman and injured three of her family members on Wednesday, emergency services said.

The uninhabited building fell shortly after midnight onto a neighbouring home where the woman lived, said the civil defence agency in the Algerian capital.

The Casbah, a historic city built on a hill overlooking the Mediterranean, has suffered multiple building collapses in recent years.

In 2019, five people, including a baby, died when their home collapsed in the old city. Following that incident, the mayor of Algiers was sacked.

Originally fortified under Ottoman rule in the 16th century, the Casbah played a key role during Algeria's 1954-1962 war for independence.

Despite ongoing conservation efforts, many structures remain at risk, propped up solely by wooden and metal supports.