A building in Gwangju which was in the process of demolition preparations, collapsed onto a bus on Wednesday, killing at least nine passengers. 

According to local disaster management authorities, they received reports that a five-story building located in Hak-dong in the southwestern city collapsed onto a bus parked at a nearby station at 4:22 p.m. 

Witnesses initially told rescue workers that twelve passengers were on board. However, they discovered five other victims as they began to clear the rubble.

Eight were rescued alive from the mangled vehicle. They sustained serious injuries and were immediately taken to hospital for treatment. 

Nine others were additionally pulled from the wreckage but subsequently passed away. 

The demolition site was believed to have been empty at the time but authorities are not ruling out the possibility that more people may have been present on site or even buried under the  collapsing rubble while walking along pavement.

Authorities issued a second-level emergency response system, mobilizing a team of some 140 staff and equipment from five to six fire stations near the site for rescue effort.