Five people were killed Sunday, when a large part of the roof of a new terminal collapsed at Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport.

Rescue workers said another person was unlikely to survive and three others, all policemen, were hurt. All of the dead were believed to be passengers.

A 30-metre slab of concrete, metal and glass crashed down onto a waiting area in the terminal soon after passengers had alerted police to cracks.

Firefighters inspect the debris of the 2E passenger terminal after a section of the roof collapsed at Charles de Gaulle airport(AP PHOTO)
Firefighters inspect the debris of the 2E passenger terminal after a section of the roof collapsed at Charles de Gaulle airport(AP PHOTO)

French Interior Minister Dominique de Villepin visited the scene of the accident, accompanied by Transport Minister Gilles de Robien.

"It's the sort of situation which we find in earthquakes, therefore a very difficult site with people buried, because of the glass and the structure. All that makes the rescue operation very delicate. We are going to carry on working until we find out exactly the situation of each of the victims. At the moment we know there are five dead, maybe six," said de Villepin.

The $1 billion futuristic terminal, with slots for 17 aircraft, opened to the public last June 25 after at least two construction delays.