Eight persons were killed and 14 more hurt when a number of old buildings collapsed in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, the official SANA news agency reported."The collapse occurred as the result of a landslide over the buildings, which were built atop ancient caves," Aleppo Governor Osama Uday was quoted as saying.

Rescue operations were underway in the city, located 355 kilometres (220 miles) north of Damascus.

PHOTO CAPTION

Rescue workers pull residents from the debris