Watch: Brazil building collapses like house of cards. Residents were asleep

Brazil Building Collapse: Videos shared widely on social media showed the four-story apartment building reduced to rubble.

An apartment building collapsed in northeastern Brazil leaving at least eight people dead, officials said. Five people are missing as rescue workers continued a frantic search for survivors in the rubble. The victims included two young children, including an 8-year-old and a 5-year-old.

Brazil Building Collapse: The victims included two young children.

Civil defense officials said that four people were pulled out alive.

The residential building is located in Brazil's northeastern Pernambuco state, in the Janga neighborhood on the outskirts of Recife. Videos shared widely on social media showed the four-story apartment building reduced to rubble. Firefighters and rescue workers rushed around the building which collapsed on Friday morning around 6:35 a.m., when many residents were still sleeping.

The cause of the collapse was not known but the incident took place as the coastal city of Recife has been grappling with heavy rainfall in recent days.

Pernambuco governor Raquel Lyra warned that more rain is expected, recommending that locals make sure they can access safe structures, news agency Reuters reported.