A residential tower block collapsed in Brazil after a huge blaze tore through the building in the middle of the night - leaving several residents trapped.

One person has been confirmed dead so far - with further fatalities expected to be announced over the coming hours.

The block then suddenly bursts into a bright ball of fire - before a whole side of the building comes crashing down to earth.

Local news outlets reported that the building was occupied by homeless people from the local area.

Flabio Gabia, a receptionist who works in a nearby hotel, told Estadao: 'When I went to see what it was, the streets, which were deserted, were filled with people desperately trying to get away.'

'I was working at the time and I heard several people shouting.

'Several clients left the establishment when they saw the fire. A hotel next to the burning buildings was also emptied and cordoned off.'

According to local media, the building was 26-floors tall and formerly served as the headquarters of the Sao Paulo district's federal police.

It is also claimed that the building's homeless occupants were living there illegally at the time of the fire.

The fire was said to have begun on the fifth floor at around 1.30am local time, before spreading rapidly to the upper levels - leaving the frightened inhabitants no time to escape.

Emergency services have cordoned off vast swathes of the city center - with 160 firefighters and paramedics battling to free those trapped in the rubble. 

Victor Hinckel, a resident in one of the buildings in the area, told Globo: 'I had come home, I was getting ready to take a shower, and the neighbour came and told us to go downstairs.

'And when we got downstairs, half of my building was already on the street, people were jumping, very sad.' 

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