A residential building in the Indian capital Delhi has collapsed with dozens of students feared trapped inside.

Eyewitnesses told local media that as many as 50 people were inside the five-storey building in the Satya Niketan neighbourhood of south-west Delhi when it came down around 13:30 local time (08:00 GMT) on Sunday.

At least three people were killed and three others are in a critical condition, news agency PTI reports, citing local police. At least eight people were said to have been rescued so far, according to reports.

There had been construction work going on in the basement of the building, Hostel Daze, which sits a short distance from the Delhi University campus.

Many of the students staying there were thought to be in their rooms at the time of the collapse as there were no lessons on Sunday.

A legislative assembly member said at the scene that some of the trapped students had been making calls from under the rubble.

Eyewitnesses told local media that another building beside the hostel had also collapsed. One told news agency ANI that the other building had also been a hostel.

Chief Minister of Delhi Rekha Gupta said an adjacent building had been evacuated “as a precautionary measure”.

“Every possible effort is being made to safely rescue those trapped,” she added.

Delhi Police said the building had only been 40 or 50 years old.

The owner of a nearby shop told ANI that it had been under a 100-year lease and that the leaseholder had undertaken excavation work in the basement to expand the hostel and increase their income.

“They strengthened the upper building, but the pillars below were weak,” he said, noting that the construction workers had also been buried.

The National Students’ Union of India called on the government to investigate the cause of the collapse and hold anyone found responsible to account.

“Negligence with the safety of students and common people will not be tolerated at any cost,” it said.

Police are searching for the owner of the building, Times of India reports.

Satya Niketan is a densely populated area which houses a large student population, with a number of hostels in the neighbourhood.

Building collapses are relatively common in Delhi, with more than a thousand recorded in the past three years causing dozens of deaths, according to reported fire department figures.

Poor foundations, inadequate materials and unqualified construction workers are reportedly among the common reasons for collapses.

Eleven people, including three children, were reportedly killed last April when a residential building collapsed in north-eastern Delhi.