The northern part of the building meant to be a quarter for sweepers of the Dhaka City Corporation sank into the ground at around 10:25pm. It was leaning precariously downwards. The southern part remained unaffected. no casualties, however, was reported as of filing this report at 1:40am.

The construction work completed recently and the building was supposed to be open on June 3.

"I heard a bang as the ground beneath my feet shook violently," said Kartik Lal, a sweeper who lives in the tin-roofed colony.

"Soon I found the six-storey building has come down to a height of five-storey," he added.

Walls of the first floor tilted by 7 to 8 feet with huge cracks in them.

A team of 50 fire-fighters reached the spot soon after the incident and had the locals evacuated from the area.

"The entire building might collapse at any moment," said Selim Newaz Bhuiyan, deputy director of Dhaka division Fire Service and Civil Defence.

"Faulty construction might have caused the subsidence," he added.

A huge number of police and members of Rab and the army cordoned off the area.

Around 500-600 onlookers gathered to see the leaning building while the evacuated families took shelter on Dayaganj Road.

None from the DCC visited the area, fearing backlash.