At least four people died in the collapse of a building under construction in Abidjan, the economic capital of Ivory Coast, rescue services announced on Saturday.

Building collapses are not uncommon in the city of more than 6 million inhabitants, which is experiencing rapid population growth and an explosion of construction, sometimes in an uncontrolled manner or with poor quality materials.

They often occur during the rainy season, which has just started in Abidjan, with heavy rainfall observed this week.

"A 4-story building under construction collapsed on Saturday in the Soweto district of Koumassi. According to initial reports, the first two levels of the building were already inhabited," indicates the Police Secours alert platform which records fatal accidents in the country.

"Preliminary report at 4 PM: 04 bodies found in the rubble by rescue workers," she added, specifying that the firefighters' search is still ongoing.

On Saturday, the Minister of Urban Planning, Moussa Sanogo, visited the scene of the tragedy and mentioned a death toll of five.

"With the rainy season beginning, a period particularly conducive to this type of risk, it is imperative to further strengthen our anticipation and control capabilities," he said.

"Significant efforts have already been made, notably through the recent strengthening of the resources of the control brigades, in order to limit the occurrence of such disasters. Unfortunately, accidents can still happen," the minister continued, offering his condolences to the affected families.

The year 2023 was particularly deadly in Abidjan with around twenty deaths in building collapses and several measures were adopted to strengthen the monitoring of constructions.