VZCZCXRO9322
PP RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHLU #0253 0911721
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 311721Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY LUANDA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4698
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY

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