Dubai - An eight-storey building under construction in central Dubai collapsed on Sunday, local media reported.

It was not initially clear if there were any victims, although a number of nearby parked cars were destroyed.

The building, situated in Deira neighbourhood, collapsed at about 4pm local time (1200 GMT), Khaleej times newspaper reported.

One witnesses, a security officer, said no workers were believed to be on-site at the time. However, he was not able to confirm whether anybody had been hurt in the building collapse.

Office workers in the area reported feeling something akin to an earthquake as the building collapsed.

'I'm about 400m away. I just experienced a jerking on the building and thought it was an earthquake,' Zainudheen Parissery, told the newspaper.

Police, ambulance and rescue teams have arrived at the scene, whilst the cause of the collapse is not yet clear. (dpa)