Two dead, dozens injured in collapse at Myanmar luxury hotel building site

Two construction workers were killed and dozens injured when part of a luxury hotel being built in Myanmar's second city of Mandalay collapsed, sparking a desperate 30 hour bid to free a man trapped in the rubble, police said Monday.

Rescue teams worked round-the-clock to free the trapped 18-year-old worker after the incident on Saturday afternoon at the construction site, according to local police, finally pulling him from the rubble late Sunday.

"He was rescued last night between 10pm and midnight," Saw Aung Myo, a senior officer at the local police station at Chan Mya Thazi township told AFP, who said a total of 22 people were injured.

The site, which is being built by local contractors, is set to become a luxury Pullman hotel, according to a spokeswoman for the Accor Hotels group, who said the company was seeking further information on the incident.

Three firms were responsible for construction at the site, according to police who said it is not yet known what caused part of the building to suddenly collapse.

Myanmar has seen a construction boom in recent years as international firms flock into the long-isolated country following the removal of most Western sanctions as it emerged from decades of military rule.

But the rush to build new hotels, offices and condominiums has raised concerns about building practices in the impoverished nation, where regulations are scant and poorly implemented.