Emergency workers were seen searching for survivors at the site of a collapsed four-storey residential building in Choueifat, one of Beirut's southern suburbs, on Monday, with at least four people believed to have been killed.

Footage also shows fire crews, ambulances, civil defence workers and Red Crescent staff, with debris scattered in the street.

"The residents of an apartment on the first floor were our friends and they were visiting us but their children remained at home," said local Mohammed Hussien Samo. "I rushed with my brother to the building as the ambulance have not arrived yet. We headed to the other side, as my brother pulled out the children and brought them to my house"

The state-run National News Agency reported that five people were pulled alive from the rubble. According to media outlets, the building also housed Syrian families.

"The Lebanese people have always demonstrated solidarity with one another as they have been collectively enduring hardships," said head of the relief committee, Major General Mohammed Khair. "We can stand by each other to overcome the security, economic, humanitarian, and social conditions that have all come together."

Local workers also began evacuating adjacent buildings due to the potential risk of collapse. An investigation is ongoing, with the collapse following days of heavy rain. According to media reports, some officials also claimed there had been existing concerns about the safety of the building.