PAWTUCKET, R.I. (AP) – At least five people were injured when a section of ceiling collapsed at a church in Pawtucket.

Fire Battalion Chief Tim Mercer said Tuesday night five people were taken to hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries after a section of the basement ceiling fell on people at the Pawtucket Congregational Church. He said the injuries included a possible broken ankle, neck and back injuries and cuts.

Mercer said nine people were in the area where the 20-foot-by-30-foot section collapsed about 8:30 p.m., dropping plaster. A second meeting also was being held in a different part of the basement.

Mercer said a building inspector and fire safety officials were at the church, which was built in the 1880s.

The cause of the collapse is not immediately known.

AP-ES-12-30-08 2242EST