DHAKA, Feb. 25 (Xinhuanet) -- At least 16 people, including a child and two women, were killed and 35 others wounded in a building collapse in downtown Bangladeshi capital Dhaka on Saturday, private television channel ATN Bangla reported.

The site of the collapse in downtown capital Dhaka. [Xinhua/Reuters]

    The garment factory building collapsed in the capital's Tejgaon industrial area at about 11 a.m. (0500 GMT) Saturday, fire service officials told Xinhua.

    "Our rescue team recovered 12 bodies so far and rescued about 12 other wounded workers from the rubbles of the five-story building that collapsed for reasons still unknown," an army rescue team officer told Xinhua Saturday.

    The spokesman could not give the reason of the collapse of the building, but others blamed on the flawed construction of the building formerly used as a garment factory.

    The building formerly used as a garment factory was being readied for setting up a hospital and some construction workers working inside the building were trapped.

    An eyewitness giving his name as Rafiqul Islam told Xinhua, "I saw the building collapsing this morning. In moments it scrambled down with a loud bang."

    He said the main gate of the building was shut. "We gathered here and broke open the gate and rescued five workers. We also dragged five bodies of construction workers from rubbles," he said, adding that he did not know how many workers were working in the building.

    He said they rescued two women workers, who gave the figure of workers at around 60. "I can't say how many workers came out of the collapsed building. When we entered the building we heard cry of some trapped workers," Islam said, adding the women were breaking bricks in the ground floor of the building.

    The building also fell on some shanty houses nearby, killing some slum dwellers, but the exact number of dead slum people were not yet available.

    Islam said, "Among the slum people one child and two women were killed, I can say this, but nothing more."

Rescue workers carry a injured worker from the collapsed garment factory.

    Matiur Rahman, a tiles worker who is getting treatment at a nearby hospital, said that around 150 workers were there when it collapsed like a card house. Rahman said he and 30-35 workers had managed to come out of the collapsed building.

    Rescuers of Bangladeshi army, fire service and police were seen removing the debris using heavy equipment, including cranes, at the spot.

    This is the second accident in less than 48 hours in this disaster-prone country. On Thursday a devastating fire in a textile factory in southeastern port city of Chittagong killed at least 55 people.

    This is also the second factory building collapse in less than one year. In April last year a nine-storied building housing a garment industry near Dhaka collapsed, killing 74 workers and injuring several hundred others. Enditem