15 dead in Mali building collapse

Fifteen people were killed on Sunday when a three-storey building under construction collapsed "like a house of cards" in the Mali capital Bamako, the government and local media reports said.

Twenty-six people were rescued alive from the partially occupied building after it collapsed just before dawn.

"Thanks to the determination of the emergency services, a young girl of around four years has just been pulled out of the rubble alive.

"Another survivor (a woman) has just, happily, been extracted by rescuers," the civil protection ministry said.

The ministry later said an investigation into the building's owner had been opened.

According to local media reports, the top floor collapsed onto the rest of the building which was already occupied, resulting in the entire structure "collapsing like a house of cards".

Such collapses are common in Mali where buildings are often constructed without planning permission.