Tanzania building collapsed, at least 4 dead and 60 missing

|C|tanzania-building-collapsed.jpg, Mar 2013))

A 16-story building under construction collapsed in Tanzania's largest city on Friday, government and emergency officials said.

The building collapsed Friday with a "huge whoosh and then thump," said eyewitness Ali Jawad Bhimani, a hotel owner who lives near the building in Dar es Salaam's normally bustling Kariakoo central business district.

At least four people were dead and 60 were missing including five children. A statement from the nearby mosque said that four of the boys believed to have been playing there were still missing.

Rescuers searched under a mountain of concrete and twisted metal hoping to find some survivors.

Police and search dogs quickly flooded the scene, Bhimani said. By Friday evening, the dogs were gone, replaced by heavy equipment being used to remove debris, he said.

The Tanzanian Red Cross said rescue efforts would continue through the night. But the group also expressed relief that the casualty figures could have been far higher but the streets were relatively empty of vendors and shoppers due to a holiday.

In addition to the deaths, at least 17 people were injured, said Suleiman Kova, a regional police commander. - CNN news