Five killed in Tel Aviv building collapse

Workers from Ghana scuffled with police at the site
An explosion triggered by a gas leak brought a two-storey building crashing down in the Israeli city Tel Aviv yesterday, killing at least five people, injuring three and trapping others in the ruins.

Hours later, the seaside city was rocked by a second blast, described by police as an assassination attempt against an underworld kingpin.

Those killed in the collapsed building included two Israeli women, a Nigerian man and woman, and a five-year-old Filipino girl, said Tel Aviv police spokeswoman Shlomit Hertzberg.

"We know of at least three more people who are still trapped under the debris," said Gidon Baron, an army reserve colonel, who was commanding rescue efforts there. He said there was a good chance of finding survivors.

One of the victims was a woman in her ninth month of pregnancy. Rescue workers tried to save the baby, but couldn't dislodge the mother's body from under a large slab of concrete, said rescue services spokesman Moshe Mosco.

"It was her first baby," said Blossom Ani, who lives in the neighbourhood. "I feel very bad about what happened to my friend. I can't talk any more."

The army was called in to take over rescue efforts, bringing in electronic equipment, dogs and heavy machinery to help find those still trapped.

Working under a searing noon sun, soldiers in yellow hard hats used bulldozers and cranes to move aside large chunks of rubble. Occasionally turning off the machinery to listen for signs of life, they then dug through the debris with their bare hands in a bid to find survivors.

The building, in a run-down neighbourhood of southern Tel Aviv, was home to a mixture of blue-collar Israelis and foreign workers.

Workers from Ghana and Nigeria scuffled with police at the site, demanding access to the bodies in an effort to find relatives and friends. Dazed neighbours watched from across the street.

Rumours of a Palestinian attack spread rapidly through the city, still jittery despite an announcement yesterday by militants of a temporary halt in attacks on Israelis. But police said the blast was caused by a gas leak.

Across town, a bomb exploded near a travel agency specialising in gambling tours, police spokesman Gil Kleiman said. Details were sketchy.

Zeb Rosenstein, a reputed underworld leader who has survived a number of attempts on his life, was among the four people injured, Mr Kleiman said