11 missing in Colombia building collapse – officials

Rescue workers look at the remains of a building that collapsed late Saturday, in Medellin, Colombia, on Sunday, Oct. 13, 2013. Medellin disaster preparedness chief Jaime Enrique Gomez says they’re trying to rescue 11 people missing in the collapse of a high-rise building and they still hold out hope of finding all alive following the Saturday night collapse in one of the most exclusive neighborhoods of Medellin, Colombia’s second-largest city. AP/Luis Benavides

BOGOTA – A new 21-story apartment building collapsed in the Colombian city of Medellin, leaving 11 workers missing in the rubble, authorities said Sunday.

The building had been evacuated after inspectors warned of a risk of collapse, but workers were inside trying to shore up the structure when it came down Saturday night, the mayor’s office said.

The mayor’s office said three workers were rescued, but 11 others remained missing on Sunday.

“We had warned of the risk during a visit Friday,” said Santiago Perez, the deputy director of the city’s risk management office.

Engineers from his office found a structural problem in a beam during an inspection, prompting the building’s evacuation.

Half the building’s 80 apartments were inhabited before the collapse.

Five other apartment towers in the complex in the El Poblado municipality southwest of Medellin also were evacuated as a precaution.