A building collapsed in a busy part of Sri Lanka's capital on Wednesday, killing at least seven people, police said.

The incident happened at around 3:15 p.m. Wednesday local time when a single-story house collapsed, local media quoted a police spokesperson as saying.

Police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara said firefighters and police were searching for people who might be trapped under the rubble. Police were unable to say how many people might still be trapped.

Gunasekara said the building, which collapsed in Colombo's Grandpass district, had been used as a storehouse for spices.

The cause of the collapse is being investigated.