Raed Omari

AMMAN: The death toll from the building collapse in Jordan’s capital Amman rose to 10 on Thursday after rescue teams recovered another body from the rubble.

The discovery was made as the search continues for survivors of the accident, the Public Security Department said. As well as the fatalities, 10 people were injured in the collapse.

Following his return from France on Wednesday, Jordan’s King Abdullah chaired a meeting at the National Center for Security and Crisis Management to keep abreast of the situation, the royal court said in a statement.

He urged that all those affected by the collapse of the residential building in Amman’s El-Luweibdeh neighborhood be provided with all necessary medical care and support, it said.

He also called for greater awareness of how to deal with old buildings, it added.

On a visit to the PSD on Thursday, the king praised the professionalism of the civil defense teams and stressed the need for more training and specialized equipment to deal with similar tragedies in the future, according to a separate statement from the royal court.

On Wednesday, Civil Defense Chief Hatem Jaber said that search and rescue operations would continue until all those believed to have been trapped were pulled out.

At least 25 people are thought to have been in the building when it collapsed on Tuesday. About 300 civil defense personnel are involved in the search and rescue mission.

Among those rescued so far are a five-month-old baby girl named Malak and a man in his 50s. The infant is currently being treated at the Luzmila Hospital in El-Luweibdeh, and is said to be in a fair condition.

Hussam Najdawi from the Greater Amman Municipality said the building that collapsed was nearly 50 years old, adding that the residents of four neighboring buildings had been evacuated as a safety precaution.

Technical teams from the municipality would assess the condition of several other old buildings in El-Luweibdeh, Najdawi said.

Although the GAM has been criticized for not taking care of old buildings it said it was not to blame for the collapse, which was the result of “irresponsible construction inside the property.”