Port-au-Prince, Haiti  - Haitian President Rene Preval said the weakness of the state and the flouting of building regulations were responsible for a school collapse that cost the lives of at least 93 children.

"The anarchy in the construction sector is the root of the tragedy," Preval told Radio Metropole Monday night.

The lawlessness was a result of the weakness of the state, which also caused lives to be endangered in natural catastrophes, he said.

This year, about 800 Haitians died in tropical storms, often being buried underneath their collapsed homes.

Preval said 93 bodies, most of them children, were recovered after Friday's collapse of the Evangelical Promise school in Petion-Ville, a suburb of the capital, Port-au-Prince.

About 150 were rushed to nearby hospitals and 100 were still listed as missing. Rescuers said Monday that they had given up hope of pulling any more survivors from the rubble of the three-storey building.

Reports varied on how many children and teachers had been in the building at the time of the accident, but as many as 300 were believed to be inside the school as it operated in two shifts to accommodate all of its 700 students.

Police questioned the owner of the school, saying he did not obtain proper construction permits to build the school. (dpa)