According to firefighters, at least 16 people were murdered, and numerous more were critically injured when a building collapsed in Cameroon's commercial capital of Douala on Sunday.
According to hospital officials, a three-year-old girl was among the victims, and three other children are in intensive care.
On the condition of anonymity, a senior fire department official told AFP that the current dead toll of 16 was tentative.
Did you read this?
Around 1:30 a.m. local time, a four-story structure collapsed onto another residential building in the city's north. Rescuers were combing the debris for survival.
"The situation is under control, and firefighters are working to ensure no one is trapped beneath the rubble," said Littoral area governor Samuel Dieudonne Ivaha Diboua, who visited the collapse scene.
The Laquintinie hospital in Douala stated it had taken in 13 patients, two of whom died: a three-year-old girl and a 19-year-old woman.
It went on to say that three of the injured children were receiving emergency treatment.
Two girls, a 28-year-old lady, and five males were admitted to the hospital.
In Douala in 2016, five individuals perished in identical circumstances, with officials blaming the poor state of repairs and potential violations of construction standards.
Local authorities identified 500 buildings in danger of collapsing in June of that year.
