Three bodies found under rubble of collapsed building in Egypt's Alexandria

Ambulances and hospitals are standing by to treat survivors

Egyptian civil defence personnel search for survivors amid the rubble of a collapsed 13-storey building in Alexandria on Monday. EPA

At least three bodies have been recovered from under the debris of a building that collapsed in the Egyptian coastal city of Alexandria, authorities said on Tuesday.

The previous day a 13-storey apartment building dating back to the 1970s collapsed in the neighborhood of Muntazah.

Initial reports indicated that eight people were missing beneath the rubble.

Health Ministry spokesman Hossam Ghaffar said three bodies had been extracted from beneath the rubble of the collapsed building, while two people who were injured had been discharged from the hospital after receiving the necessary medical treatment.

Ambulances "will continue to be stationed at the site of the collapsed building to provide medical services to those injured while the search continues," Mr Ghaffar told CNN.

Authorities did not say if anyone was still missing.

The city’s governor, Mohamed Al Sharif, said search efforts at the site were under way and that an investigation into the cause of the collapse had been launched.

An initial police report determined that the building's collapse had resulted from a “vertical split” in its structure.

Around 16 families lived in the building full time, while the rest of the apartments were being rented out to holidaymakers visiting Alexandria during the summer.