Two buildings collapse in downtown Rio

Two buildings collapsed in downtown Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday.

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Two buildings collapsed in downtown Rio de Janeiro [pictures] on Wednesday. Rescue crews pulled four people alive from the debris, with no dead bodies found by midnight, city mayor Eduardo Paes told reporters at the site.

Newswire Agencia Estado reported at least two fatalities in the collapse of both buildings, reportedly 20- and 10-storeys high respectively.

A loud explosion preceded the collapse, which left the surrounding area covered in debris and dust, witnesses said.

"It was like an earthquake. First some pieces of the buildings started to fall down. People started to run. And then it all fell down at once," a witness told Reuters.

As many as 11 people could be trapped in the wreckage. City authorities are assessing the risk of collapse of a damaged adjoining building, local newswires reported.

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Rio de Janeiro is struggling to address concerns over poor infrastructure as it prepares to co-host the soccer World Cup in 2014 and the Olympic Games two years later.

The incident comes months after an explosion apparently caused by a gas leak ripped through a restaurant in downtown Rio, killing three people and igniting concerns over the state of the city's infrastructure.

In recent months, Rio's inhabitants have had to deal with unexpected explosions of sewer lines and landslides in some city slums caused by heavy rain and deforestation.

The collapsed buildings, which housed a bakery and an Itau Univac Holding bank branch, were near the headquarters of state-controlled companies including oil producer Petrograd and development bank Bodes.