DUBAI, April 22: Five labourers died and seven more were hurt in Sharjah on Sunday when the dome of a public building under construction collapsed on them.

Iron scaffolding caved in when tons of cement was being poured into the 40-metre dome of the three-million-dollar Sharjah Town Planning Department.

The casualties, three of whom were gravely injured, were Pakistani, Indian and Egyptian, a police official said.

Frantic rescue efforts were made to save the workers before the cement dried.—AFP