Eight people have died and 24 injured when a 10-story apartment building in Cairo collapsed on Saturday, officials said.

Egypt’s chief prosecutor, Hamadah El Sawy, ordered an investigation into the collapse of the building in Cairo’s eastern district of Gisr El Suez.

Police have cordoned off the area to keep out onlookers and relatives looking for loved ones who lived in the building.

Rescue workers were using bulldozers to clear the rubble while others searched for survivors.

There was no word on the cause of the collapse, but such incidents are not uncommon in Egypt where shoddily-built apartment towers in Cairo and other major cities frequently collapse.

An engineering committee was formed to examine the structural integrity of neighboring buildings, said Khalid Abdel Al, the administrative head of Cairo governorate.

The government has recently launched a high-profile campaign championed by President Abdel Fatah El Sisi to stop illegal buildings, including those built on the country’s vital farmlands or on the banks of the river Nile.

Most of the buildings that collapse violate construction safety guidelines and were built without the supervision of qualified architects.

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