CAIRO: At least 31 people were killed and 22 injured on Saturday when dozens of homes in northern Cairo collapsed after being hit by a massive rockslide, Egyptian emergency services said.

Several huge lumps of rock weighing “hundreds of tonnes” broke off Moqattam hill overlooking the capital’s Deweka district, one security official said on condition of anonymity.

“The rockslide occurred at 8:50 am (0650 GMT), and the provisional toll stands at 18 dead and 22 injured,” the official said. “The rocks hit dozens of homes, causing them to collapse.” The cause of the rockfall was not immediately known.

Rescue teams on site were struggling to make progress because of the size of the boulders. They were being forced to wait for the arrival of cranes and heavy lifting equipment to allow them to move the rocks. Frustrated emergency workers stood by as they awaited the arrival of the specialist machinery needed to move the massive boulders and television crews and print journalists rushed to the scene.

An AFP journalist at the scene of the accident described scenes of panic as the residents of the poor and densely populated shantytown neighbourhood struggled to search for missing friends and relatives.