ALEXANDRIA, Egypt, Jan 16 (Reuters) - At least 14 people were killed in Egypt on Wednesday when an apartment block collapsed in Alexandria, the state news agency reported.

The eight-storey building in a working class district of the Mediterranean city collapsed just before 7 a.m.. Residents said the building was home to more than 30 people.

Rescue workers used mechanical diggers and their bare hands to search through the rubble. Building collapses are common in Egypt because of lax building standards and poor maintenance.

(Reporting by Abdel Rahman Youssef; Writing by Tom Perry in Cairo; Editing by Alison Williams)