Sao Paulo - A five-storey building under construction collapsed outside Sao Paulo late on Monday, but officials said there was no word on casualties.
More than 70 firefighters, accompanied by sniffer dogs, were on the scene, combing through the rubble of the building in search of possible victims in the city of Guarulhos, the fire department said.
It said 13 workers had been working on the site, but were not inside when the building gave way, apparently as a result of a structural fault.
Search teams were looking for one person who might have been inside, the department said on its Twitter account.
Television pictures showed a huge crater where the building stood.
“It was a building under construction, with all the features of a commercial building,” Civil Defence co-ordinator Victor Novaes told Globonews.
Authorities said a nearby building was evacuated as a precautionary measure to ensure it did not sustain damage.
Guarulhos is home to Sao Paulo's main international airport.
Last August, 10 people were killed in the collapse of a building under construction in Sao Paulo, Brazil's most populous city and business capital.
Sapa-AFP