AP News, August 29th, 2007
A 16-story building collapsed while under construction in Azerbaijan's capital, killing eight people, authorities said Wednesday.
The building collapsed Tuesday, and rescuers were still searching the site after nightfall Wednesday. An emergency official, Kamil Bagirov, said rescuers believed workers were still trapped.
"We hope there are people alive in there, possibly four people. We will continue the rescue operation until the end," he said.
Two victims _ an elderly woman and her granddaughter who apparently were walking by the building when it fell _ were the latest to be removed from the rubble, Health Ministry spokeswoman Samaya Mammadova said. Five other workers were found dead earlier.
"My son is beneath that rubble," said Farman Nazarov, 50. "I have hope he will be rescued, even though it's very hot and they are without water and air in there."
Nazarov said his other son was also working on the building, but managed to escape as it collapsed and helped rescue two other people before authorities made him leave. That son sat silently nearby, looking exhausted and distressed.
Three workers pulled from the rubble earlier have survived, officials said.
Prosecutors in the former Soviet republic on the Caspian Sea blamed violations of safety regulations for the building's collapse.
The head of the construction company and another company executive were arrested, according to Prosecutor General Zakir Qaralov.
"Safety measures were not observed during construction, and there were serious violations of the law," he said.
The company began construction of the building in 2002 without authorization, Baku's chief prosecutor, Aziz Seidov, told journalists.
