Identity of Sri Lankan woman injured in Lebanon building collapse confirmed

The identity of the Sri Lankan woman, who was injured after a residential building collapsed in Lebanon on Monday (Oct. 16), has been determined.

According to Foreign Employment Bureau (SLBFE) spokesman Gamini Senarath Yapa, the woman in question is a 65-year-old hailing from Miriswatta in Gampaha.

It was confirmed yesterday that a Sri Lankan woman was among several people trapped under the rubble following the collapse of the five-storey structure in Mansourieh.

Lebanese Civil Defence, the Army and Red Cross teams were in a race against time to rescue those who were inside the building at the time of the incident.

According to foreign media reports, the number of deaths has now risen to three. Four people were rescued from the debris.

The building owners have said the structure had shown cracks post-Beirut explosion but was promptly repaired, while Brigadier General Raymond Khattar, Director-General of Lebanese Civil Defence attributed the tragedy to two failed columns and recent flooding.

Lebanese MP Razi al-Hajj previously said he had a list of the names of six citizens and a foreign domestic worker who were trapped under the rubble.

Meanwhile, Sri Lankans working in southern Lebanon have been advised to immediately register themselves with the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Beirut, as concerns are rife about a broader regional conflict with the escalation of tensions between Israel and Lebanon on the margins of the Israel-Palestine war.

Accordingly, the following mobile numbers and the e-mail address have been introduced for this purpose:
• 70 386754 – Mr. Sanath Balasuriya, the First Secretary
• 71 960810 – Mr. Priyantha Dassanayake 
• slemb.beirut@mfa.gov.lk