Almost 170 firefighters battled the blaze, which broke out in the basement of the site for a three-storey contemporary art museum. They were searching for any more victims Monday afternoon.

The blaze was fuelled by styrofoam panels, oxygen for welding and LPG containers. A total of 19 workers were injured, most of them by smoke inhalation while one fell from a crane trying to avoid the fumes.

An investigation is underway into the cause of the blaze.