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Death toll climbs to 18 in Colombian building collapse

Xinhua, April 29, 2017 Adjust font size:

The death toll from a collapsed building that was under construction in Cartagena, Colombia continued to climb as rescue workers sifted through the rubble.

On Saturday, City Hall issued its latest tally of victims, including 18 dead and 23 injured, with a total of 41 people rescued.

Some 16 of the injured remained hospitalized, Mayor Manuel Duque told local media.

All of the victims in Thursday's tragic accident were construction workers, several of them of Venezuelan nationality.

Arrest warrants have been issued for the developers, identified as the siblings Mayra, Eduardo and Wilfran Quiroz, who had apparently forged the building permits.

"They did not have permits to build. It was a fake permit to dupe the people and the city," said Duque.

Colombian prosecutors said the Quiroz siblings, who have not been located, were currently considered to be fugitives.

Officials were also reviewing other developments built by the siblings' company, Constructores & Quiroz.

Colombia's Attorney General's Office has opened an investigation into several city officials suspected of corruption in the case. Endit