Capt Mohamed Hussein said late yesterday there was no reports of survivors. He declined to say how many people are missing.
Residents in Karan district, north of Mogadishu, dug through rocks and sand looking for survivors but their efforts were hampered by darkness.
Somalia is recovering from decades of war that left the country's infrastructure in tatters with no resources for disaster response.
Mogadishu, the Somali capital, is experiencing a construction boom due to the relative peace since African Union troops pushed out Al-Qaeda-linked militants two years ago.