THREE men were arrested last night following the collapse of a Guangdong building which killed at least three people and injured eight. They included the contractor and the surveyor. The proprietor of the Dongguan factory was helping with inquiries, according to public security spokesman, Li Gau. He said the building, a former handbag factory being converted to a hotel, had collapsed because of overloading. The windows on the second and third floors had been bricked in. Two of the injured construction workers were in intensive care last night. Official newspapers said three people had been killed in the accident on Wednesday, but other reports said the death toll was six. Bricklayer Duan Yandong, who suffered a fractured arm and face injuries, said from Humen Hospital: ''Without doubt I would have been killed had I been working inside the building. ''I was working on the exterior of the structure when suddenly I heard a thundering sound before finding myself surrounded by bricks.'' The 32-year-old worker, who had come with the other victims from Yunnan, said there were about 30 to 40 workers on the site. The building, measuring about 600 square metres in area, did not have any concrete supports, he said. It was demolished last night. Dongguan is 80 kilometres north of Shenzhen, which last year was hit by several factory fires and explosions that killed more than 100 people. Safety seminars and warnings from experts in the wake of the tragedies have had little effect on how factories in China are run, a trade unionist said. Executive Director of the Confederation of Trade Unions, Lee Cheuk-yan, said industrialists had not made any improvements in safety standards since a fire at the Zhili Handicrafts Factory in Shenzhen killed 84 people in November. ''Whenever we have sent our people over to look at the site they have come back with reports that there is still a dormitory upstairs in the factory: so if there is another fire then people could die in their beds again,'' he said.