All of the workers trapped by a weekend collapse of a two-storey building in the port city of Xiamen have been found and are being treated in local hospitals.

Saturday's accident in East China's Fujian Province, which occurred at 5:30 pm, trapped about half of the 80 men who were constructing the building.

By 3 am yesterday, seven workers had been confirmed dead and 38 injured, according to an official from the city's workplace safety supervision authority, who only gave her surname as Lin.

"The primary investigation shows that the accident was caused by the poor quality of the construction and not a deliberate action," said Lin.

According to the Zhongshan Hospital, which is caring for 20 of the injured, three are in a serious condition and the remainder are stable.

"I heard nothing while I was working in my office at the moment the accident occurred," said a machinery plant official surnamed Gong.

"My office is a mere 100 metres away from the site but I didn't hear anything when the workshop collapsed."

After hearing of the accident, Provincial Governor Lu Zhangong called for all-out effort to rescue the workers. The city's Party Secretary Zheng Lizhong and Mayor Zhang Changping have visited the site.

About 500 police and medical staff took part in the rescue.

The workshop, with a designed area of 2,000 square metres, is owned by farmer Lin Tianhou from the city's Gaolin village.

Sources said the building had received no approval from local construction authorities.

Police are conducting an inquiry into the matter.

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