At least 17 dead in Tanzania building collapse

(CNN) -- At least 17 people are dead and 30 feared trapped under debris a day after a 16-story building collapsed in Dar es Salaam, the Tanzania Red Cross Society said Saturday.

The building was under construction when it crumbled Friday morning in the center of the business capital, the society said. Three of the fatalities were children.

Seven of the 14 people who were rescued remained in hospitals Saturday; the rest were discharged.

The building collapsed Friday with a "huge whoosh and then thump," said Ali Jawad Bhimani, a hotel owner who lives near the building in Dar es Salaam's normally bustling Kariakoo central business district.

"The fallen building is next to our mosque. There is a small field there where the young boys play football. The building fell right on top," he said Friday. "But 10 to 15 of the boys playing got away safely and are unharmed."

Police and search dogs arrived quickly, Bhimani said. By Friday evening, the dogs were gone, replaced by heavy equipment being used to remove debris, he said.