Friday, January 6 2006 10:50 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Mecca (Saudi Arabia) : Rescuers aided by bright spotlights worked into the night, searching for survivors and clearing rubble from the collapse of an eight-storey building that killed at least 20 people, the latest tragedy to mar the annual gathering of millions in Islam's holiest city.

The Interior Ministry said 20 people were killed and 59 were injured in yesterday's (Jan 05, 2006) collapse of Lulu'at al-Khair, a multipurpose building that housed a number of shops and restaurants and was rented out as a hostel during pilgrimages.

Ministry spokesman Maj Gen Mansour al-Turki told a news conference the dead included 11 men, 8 women and an unidentified body.

"The rescue operations are still ongoing," he said. Cranes and bulldozers removed large slabs of concrete, and jackhammers broke up smaller pieces to aid in the clearing of debris. Rescuers had lowered cameras and microphones into the rubble in attempts to find survivors.

About 1,000 rescue workers, medics and police scrambled over and around the collapsed building, working methodically but urgently. A special unit of the country's anti-terrorism force maintained security.

"Fortunately the building was almost empty when it collapsed, because most of residents were in the holy shrine at that time," civil defence Maj Gen Alwani told Al-Ekhbariya television. "Most of the casualties were from the passers-by near the building."

The dead and injured were believed to have come from a number of countries, including Egypt, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia.