Rescue crews had to be called from the World Trade Center disaster site in New York yesterday afternoon when the scaffolding surrounding a 20-storey Manhattan office building collapsed.
Five builders were killed and 11 others injured, New York City officials said.
Rescuers worked late into the night to clear debris from the 20-foot pile of rubble.
Crews had to be called from Ground Zero, about two miles south, said Fire Commissioner Mr Thomas Von Essen, who was at the scene with New York Mayor Mr Rudolph Giuliani.
As some 250 rescuers hunted for victims, they stopped periodically to listen for tapping signals from survivors. They eventually removed all the trapped victims.
The construction crew was replacing bricks and working on windows when the facade and adjoining scaffolding tumbled into the courtyard of the building, authorities said.
Most of the injured or killed men were said to be immigrants from Mexico and Ecuador. He cause of the collapse was still being investigated.
The 11 injured were taken to hospital, police said. Their conditions were not immediately known.
AP