Residents remain trapped under the rubble of a collapsed residential building in Tripoli, Lebanon's second-largest city, more than two days after the structure gave way, according to reports from local residents and emergency responders.
The building collapsed on Friday in Tripoli, but rescue efforts have been hampered by the degraded state of Lebanon's emergency response infrastructure. Images from the scene show debris scattered across narrow residential streets, with rescue workers attempting to reach survivors with limited equipment.
The incident underscores the accelerating infrastructure crisis gripping Lebanon, where years of economic collapse, political paralysis, and the aftermath of the 2020 Beirut port explosion have left the state struggling to maintain basic services. Building safety inspections have largely ceased as government institutions have hollowed out, with many civil servants unable to afford transportation to work amid fuel shortages and currency devaluation.
Tripoli, historically one of Lebanon's poorest cities, has been particularly hard-hit by the ongoing crisis. The city's building stock includes numerous aging structures constructed during the 1960s and 1970s, many of which have deteriorated without proper maintenance as landlords and residents alike lack resources for repairs.
The slow pace of rescue operations reflects the broader breakdown in state capacity. Lebanon's Civil Defense, once a well-equipped emergency service, has seen its budget evaporate in dollar terms as the Lebanese pound has lost more than 98 percent of its value since 2019. Many emergency vehicles lack fuel, spare parts, or functional equipment.
In this region, today's headline is yesterday's history repeating. Building collapses have become increasingly common across Lebanon as economic pressures mount. Last year saw several similar incidents in Beirut and Tripoli, though casualty figures are difficult to confirm given the fragmented nature of emergency services.
The collapse also highlights the human cost of Lebanon's political deadlock. The country went more than two years without a president before finally electing Joseph Aoun earlier this month, while successive governments have failed to implement reforms necessary to unlock international aid.
Local civil society organizations have stepped in to fill gaps left by the absent state, but they lack the heavy equipment and expertise necessary for complex rescue operations. Videos circulating on social media show neighbors and volunteers working alongside overwhelmed civil defense teams, using hand tools to clear debris.
The full extent of casualties from the Tripoli collapse remains unclear. Lebanon's healthcare system, already devastated by years of economic crisis and exacerbated by the aftermath of the Beirut port blast, struggles to cope with emergency cases.
This incident is unlikely to be the last. Engineering experts have warned for years that Lebanon's aging building stock poses an increasing danger as maintenance lapses and informal construction proceeds without oversight. But with the state lacking both resources and authority to conduct systematic inspections or enforce building codes, residents across the country live with mounting risks that compound daily.
