An 11-story apartment building collapsed Monday in Konya in central Turkey, killing at least three people and trapping dozens, rescue workers said.  

The cause was not immediately clear, with some officials citing shoddy construction and others suggesting a boiler explosion may have been to blame.

"We heard a gigantic crash," said Yeter Oguz, the owner of a nearby pastry shop. "There was so much dust in the air that it took us 10 minutes to figure out which building collapsed."

When the air finally cleared, all that remained of the building was a heap of twisted metal and chunks of concrete.

One rescuer carried a traumatized man out of the rubble, while a young girl helped an elderly woman walk away from the wreckage. A distressed middle-aged woman wandered around, calling out the names of her loved ones.

At least three people were killed and 20 injured in the collapse, the government crisis center in Konya said in an official statement. The body of a two-year-old girl was among those pulled out, officials said.

Konya Governor Ahmet Kayhan said at least 70 people were believed to be trapped in the rubble. CNN-Turk television said the number could be as high as 150.

The building housed about 40 apartments, officials said. NTV television said 138 people had been registered as living in the building. It was unclear how many people were in the building at the time of the collapse.

Those rescued were mainly from the 5-year-old building's top floors and were in good condition, Anatolia said.

The injured were taken to local hospitals as rescuers searched for more survivors, using digging equipment and their bare hands.

The disaster came as Turks celebrated the Islamic Eid al-Adha holiday by visiting friends and relatives. The bottom floor of the building housed shops, which were closed at the time, CNN-Turk said.

Kayhan said Monday that poor construction may have been the cause of the collapse. Konya's mayor, Mustafa Ozkafa, said an explosion may have caused the collapse.

On Saturday, two wooden buildings collapsed in Istanbul, killing six people and injuring one other. In June, a dormitory housing high school students collapsed after what appeared to be a gas explosion, killing 10 students.

In May, a dormitory in eastern Turkey collapsed in a magnitude 6.4 earthquake, killing 84 students. Critics blamed shoddy construction.

(China Daily February 3, 2004)