NEW DELHI: More than 100 Indian rescue workers were using steel cutters and drills yesterday to try and free those still feared trapped under the rubble of a collapsed six-storey building outside Delhi, reports AFP.

Five bodies have been pulled out of the wreckage since the building gave way late Tuesday, according to rescue officials.

A rescue official told AFP it was not yet possible to determine how many people were still trapped underneath tonnes of concrete and metal debris.

Eyewitnesses and neighbours said one of those still missing was a one-year-old child from one of two families thought to be under the debris and who had moved in only days before.

“My friend was living here with his family since last Saturday. I spoke to them last night but have not had any contact with them since 9:00 pm,” local resident Sandesh Kumar told Indian television news channel NDTV.

“I am just hoping they are alright,” he said.

Sniffer dogs were also brought in to assist with the search, which officers said would continue through the night.

Authorities said the structure, which was still under construction, collapsed onto an adjacent newly constructed four-storey residential building.

Both are part of a residential complex in one of the many satellite towns dotted around Delhi growing fast to house the fast-expanding population of the 20-million-strong megacity.