GOVERNMENT BUILDING COLLAPSES, KILLING AT LEAST 24

UNCLAS LUANDA 000253 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM AO SUBJECT: GOVERNMENT BUILDING COLLAPSES, KILLING AT LEAST 24 ¶1. (U) The six-story building housing the National Department of Criminal Investigation (DNIC) collapsed in the early morning of March 29, 2007. According to the Ministry of Interior, 181 people - 36 employees and 145 detainees - were inside the building at the time of the collapse. Most of the detainees, who were imprisoned in basement cells, have been rescued from the rubble; 24 bodies have also been recovered. At least 10 people are still missing, and search and rescue operations continue. ¶2. (U) President Dos Santos has formed an investigative commission, which is charged with issuing a preliminary report on the cause of the accident within twenty days. Foul play is not suspected, as the building started shifting several hours before the collapse. The building was built over an aquifer, and a shift in the aquifer is already suspected to be the cause. ¶3. (SBU) As the investigative arm of the National Police, DNIC conducts all civil and criminal investigations in Angola. At this time there are no estimates on what impact the collapse will have on the judicial system, but in a country that runs on paper documents rather than computers with outside backups, serious judicial delays are expected to occur. Post will continue to monitor and report on the fallout from this event, keeping a keen eye on what the incident may indicate in regard to the safety of Luanda's aging building stock. MOZENA