Twenty seven persons, many of them drinking liquor, were killed and five people were injured when a compound wall collapsed on a bar at Angeripalayam near Tirupur, about 60 km from Coimbatore, on Wednesday night, police said.

The 27 bodies, removed from the debris by fire and rescue service personnel with the assistance of police and the public, were yet to be identified, police said.

The injured were admitted to a government hospital in Tirupur, they said.

The 22-foot-high wall, dividing the bar run by state-owned TASMAC and a private company, was said to be wet under the impact of rains, which lashed the area for nearly an hour, police said.

Rescue operations are on, police said.