Two Mongolian construction workers were rescued from a demolished building in Seoul on Saturday, South Korea's fire department said.

The Gangnam Fire Station said the two workers were trapped under rubble after a building in Yeoksam-dong, southern Seoul, was taken down. They were working with four other people.

The five-story building with three underground floors was demolished at 9:57 a.m. with an excavator, it added.

The rescue authorities said they then moved the rubble manually to prevent the building from falling apart further and rescued the first worker at around 12 p.m. before saving the other one about one and a half hours later.

Both were conscious when they were rescued and transferred to a nearby hospital with only scratches, it added. 

The South Korean police said they will investigate whether the construction officials at the site violated safety rules. (Yonhap)