CAIRO, April 9 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from a building collapse in central Egypt's Asyut province rose to nine on Wednesday. 

"Eight of the victims were females, including a six-month-old baby girl, in addition to an elderly man," a source at the province's emergency monitoring center told Xinhua. 

Rescue teams continued to remove the rubble in search of survivors or additional victims. 

A security cordon has been imposed around the site, and four neighboring buildings have been evacuated as a precaution, according to the source. 

Asyut Governor Hisham Abu Al-Nasr, along with local officials, is overseeing the response. The governor has vowed to hold those responsible accountable if negligence or violations are found during the investigation.