A wall of a building under construction at Dubai airport collapsed Monday, killing at least eight workers and injuring 12 others, Al Arabiya TV channel reported.  

However, the official WAM news agency put the death toll at 5.  

"No missing workers was reported," the Dubai Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) said in a statement, quoted by WAM.

This was the first major accident to ever occur at Dubai International Airport during construction, and it was tragic, said the statement.

Emergency personnel responded immediately and rushed to the site, WAM said, adding that the injured workers were rescued and sent to Rashid and Baraha hospitals.

The wall, a section of the reinforcement cage, fell and trapped workers at around 10:45 AM (0645 GMT).

The airport is undergoing a US$4.1-billion expansion project, which includes a third terminal, exclusively for Emirates Airline passengers, as well as a cargo mega-terminal.  

The new Emirates terminal, designed by France's Aeroports de Paris (ADP), will be in the shape of a giant plane wing almost one kilometer in length.

Dubai, a tourist and trade hub, expects to handle annual traffic of about 30 million passengers by 2010 and more than 60 million by 2020.

(Xinhua News Agency September 28, 2004)