Community Life

Emergency services were called to the building on Commercial Road, Whitechapel, in east London, at about 4.40pm on Tuesday afternoon.

Eleven passers-by were injured in total, including a young boy, and all were treated at the scene.

A spokesman for London Fire Brigade said: "We have no reports of anyone who may be inside the building. We are now securing the building and making it safe."

An investigation

London Fire Brigade said the developers had been contacted and that an investigation had been launched by the Health and Safety Executive into the reasons why the building collapsed.

The property is situated at 30 to 30a Commercial Road, next door to the Bank of Baroda. A garment importing company called Citytex is currently listed in the Yellow Pages directory as occupying the address.

Regional Building Control Ltd, a chartered building surveyors based in Essex, was contracted to inspect the building work that was taking place on the ground and first floors of the property.

Managing Director of Regional Building Control Ltd, Colin Jackson, told BBC London: "We don't think the collapse was due to the building work that was taking place and being supervised by us.

"Our initial assessment of the site suggests that the collapse was due to the gross overloading of the upper floors. With so many boxes being stored on those floors, the collapse could have happened at any time."

Tower Hamlets council told BBC London: "Responsibility for inspecting the site during the course of works rested with a private government-approved contracted company, whose only responsibility to the council is to inform us when they start and finish their inspection work."

"The council is working with police and emergency services to make the site safe and is assisting the Health and Safety Executive with their investigations into the collapse."

The aftermath

The damage to the four floor building is clearly visible in the morning light. Three storeys have collapsed sending debris on to the pavement.

Fire crews said the scaffolding was intact when they arrived at the scene, and that it had to be dismantled in order to gain access.

Traffic access to Commercial Road is limited, causing traffic jams on many major nearby roads, including Whitechapel Road and New Road.

To see pictures of the site click on the link at the top right of this page.

angela.saini@bbc.co.uk