An apartment building has collapsed in northeastern Brazil, leaving at least eight people dead and five missing, according to officials.

Rescue workers scoured the rubble in a frantic search for survivors on Friday evening as two young children, including an 8-year-old and a 5-year-old, were listed among the victims.

Four others were pulled alive from the collapsed building, according to civil defence officials, as of 9:30pm (00:30 GMT) on Friday night.

Drone footage of the residential structure in Brazil’s Recife city in northeastern Pernambuco state showed the four-storey apartment building reduced to rubble, as firefighters and rescue workers rushed to help survivors.

It was not immediately clear what caused the collapse, which occurred on Friday morning when many residents were likely still sleeping.

Recife, a coastal city with about 1.5 million residents, has been grappling with heavy rainfall in recent days and had been placed under a “state of attention” notice by authorities.

Pernambuco Governor Raquel Lyra warned earlier in the day that more rain was expected, recommending that locals make sure they can access safe structures. (Al Jazeera)

•PHOTO:Rescue workers look for victims under the rubble of collapsed building in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil, on July 7, 2023 [Anderson Stevens/Reuters]