Death toll in Egypt building collapse rises to 20

CAIRO (Reuters) - The death toll from the collapse of a 12-storey residential building in Egypt's Mediterranean city of Alexandria rose to 20 on Wednesday, security sources said.

Rescue workers have brought out three survivors from the rubble, they said.

Authorities had said they thought 25 to 30 people were buried under the rubble when the building collapsed.

The building disintegrated on Monday as construction workers carried out repairs on the first floor.

It was constructed as a seven-storey building in 1982 without a permit, authorities said. The owner obtained a permit later but then illegally added five storeys.

Prosecutors have issued warrants for the arrest of a number of people, including the woman who owned the building. They have arrested the contractor responsible for the renovation work under way immediately before the collapse, the sources said.

Police also summoned two local council officials for questioning in connection with the collapse, security sources said. A source had earlier said they had been arrested.

Building collapses are common in Egypt because of lax building standards and poor maintenance. On Tuesday, also in Alexandria, at least five people were injured when a building partially collapsed, security sources said.

(Writing by Aziz El-Kaissouni; editing by Robert Woodward)