Bangkok, Feb 25 (IANS): At least 10 people were killed Tuesday and 16 others injured when a building under construction at a hospital in Thailand's Samut Prakan province collapsed.

According to an earlier report, at least nine people were killed and 18 others were injured.

Though some workers had been rescued, many others were believed to be still buried under the debris.

A concrete beam fell down at the building site, part of the expansion of the Ramathibodi Hospital's Chakri Naruebodindra Medical Centre, around noon Tuesday, the Bangkok Post reported.

Staff at the hospital said that the beam, measuring 20 by 15 metres and 30 cm in thickness, came down on workers who were having lunch.

Rescue workers said two pierced bodies remained under the debris.

Mahidol University, which operates Ramathibodi Hospital, said in a statement Tuesday that the cause of the collapse was the subsidence of soil around the elevator chute.

The university has also pledged to investigate the accident and ensure compensation for the victims and their families.