A post office was “mistakenly" demolished overnight without any notice, leaving large amounts of letters unattended.

Demolishers later said it was an error.

Postal workers at the office in the Jiangning district of Nanjing, Jiangsu province, found themselves looking at rubble when they went to work on Wednesday morning, China National Radio reported on Wednesday.

The workers said that while the post office had been included in a demolition list, they had not reach an agreement with the department in charge of the demolition before the office was torn down.

They added that no notice was given by the department before the demolition, and that large amounts of letters and stationery were buried under the rubble.

The demolition department said that the office was demolished by mistake. The two sides are negotiating a settlement.