Six injured in building collapse

All six workers - two of them Polish - were detained in the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast with broken limbs and other injuries.

All were said to be in a stable condition.

A massive crash was heard when the second storey of the office block, close to the Royal Courts of Justice, collapsed as workers were pouring the concrete which would have provided the floor.

Workers fell up to 30 feet as the building - a new office for the Law Society of Northern Ireland - disintegrated leaving them in a tangle of steel girders, scaffolding, rubble and setting cement.

Workmates dashed to their aid and dragged them to safety as the emergency services swung a major incident plan into operation.

Sniffer dogs were used to ensure no one else was trapped within the site where up to 60 workmen are employed in the construction of the building which will eventually have seven floors, ground floor shops and underground parking.

The Health & Safety Executive closed down the site, ordered all workers off and said no resumption of work would be allowed until they had carried out a full investigation, something which a spokeswoman said could take several days.

Four people have died on construction sites in Northern Ireland so far this year and the construction union UCATT warned the growing use of casual workers on sites was increasing safety problems.

Northern Ireland First Minister , the Rev Ian Paisley, informed MLAs about the accident in the Stormont Assembly.