Construction site collapse kills at least 40 in China

Beijing - At least 40 people have been killed and others are reportedly trapped in a scaffolding collapse at a construction site in eastern China.

An official surnamed Yuan at the Fengcheng Work Safety Administration says that a platform at a power plant's cooling tower that was under construction collapsed on Thursday morning, killing at least 40 and injuring two others.

The official Xinhua News Agency says an unknown number of other people remained beneath the debris at the site in Jiangxi province.

Television footage and photographs from the site show iron pipes and wooden planks strewn across the floor of the cooling tower.

China has suffered a series of major industrial accidents over recent months blamed on corruption, disregard for safety and pressure to boost production amid a slowing economy.