"Multiple" casualties after wall collapse on Laing O'Rourke new terminal job

At least five workers were killed and at least ten were injured after a wall collapsed during construction work at Dubai airport, reports from the Middle East claimed this morning.

The official United Arab Emirates news agency claimed scaffolding on the site collapsed causing the accident and that rescue teams were searching for more victims. The collpse occured at 11AM Dubai time (0700GMT) and officials claimed 150 workers were on the site at the time of the collapse.

The job is being carried out by the UAE-UK consortium Al Naboodah Laing, who won the £350m scheme last year, and includes a second concourse, a third terminal and car park building. The scheme is scheduled to be completed in 2006.

The scheme is designed by Aeroports de Paris, which also operates Paris' Charles de Gaulles airport. That airport itself suffered a roof collapse in May, killing five. An official at the firm told newswire Dow Jones this morning that the accident was not the fault of its design. "There's no problem with the architecture. It's a problem with the construction," he said.