At least four people are believed trapped in the rubble of an old apartment building that collapsed in Fenghua, Zhejiang province early on Friday.

Firefighters who rushed to the scene have rescued four people who are now in stable condition.

Rescuers are pressed for time to save more victims but the lack of excavation and lifting equipment has forced them to manually dig through rubble to reach those who were trapped.

Like Us on Facebook

The five-story apartment building, which houses 15 families, collapsed around 10:45am on Friday.

Residents claim that the 20-year old building had cracks on its walls, which they already reported to building administrators, but their complaints were never acted upon.