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Supermarket Collapse in Latvia Kills at Least 48 Death Toll Rises in Supermarket Collapse in Latvia
(about 7 hours later)
MOSCOW — The roof of a supermarket crowded with after-work shoppers collapsed Thursday evening in Riga, the capital of Latvia, killing at least 48 people and injuring and trapping dozens more, the Latvian State Fire and Rescue Service said Friday. MOSCOW — The number of people killed in Riga, Latvia, when the roof of a crowded supermarket suddenly collapsed, reached 51 on Friday, and officials said hope was fading for at least 25 more victims believed to be trapped in the rubble.
At least three of the dead were firefighters who were involved in the rescue effort and then caught in a secondary collapse, said Viktorija Sembele, a spokeswoman for the rescue service. She said that 28 of the injured had been hospitalized, including 10 firefighters, and Latvian officials said more than 20 victims might still be trapped under the rubble. Rescue workers struggled frantically to clear tons of concrete, metal and other debris from the supermarket Maxima, which was filled with more than 100 shoppers when the roof caved in around 5:45 p.m. on Thursday.
The collapse took place at a Maxima supermarket in a residential neighborhood, west of the Daugava River in Riga, which is the biggest city in the Baltics and its biggest seaport. Among the dead were three firefighters who rushed into the badly damaged building to help the victims, only to get crushed in a secondary collapse.
Photographs of the scene showed tangles of debris and shattered glass piled outside the metal and glass building, which was surrounded by dozens of emergency vehicles. Officials said the initial collapse occurred around 5:45 p.m., when the store was busy with shoppers heading home from work. Witnesses described a terrifying scene as slabs of concrete and a jumble of metal, wires and glass fell from above, then the building was plunged into darkness. Some told local news outlets that their escape was blocked when electronic gates automatically shut.
Local news reports said that a garden was being constructed on the roof of the building and that the weight of the soil may have contributed to the collapse. Officials said they were investigating the possibility of construction code violations. At least 35 people were injured, and 28 of them were hospitalized, including 10 firefighters, said Viktorija Sembele, a spokeswoman for the Latvian State Fire and Rescue Service.
An all-night rescue effort continued Friday, with workers using cranes and other equipment in an effort to clear away concrete and other debris to reach survivors. Ms. Sembele said shortly after noon that nearly 200 firefighters were on the scene, along with dozens of other emergency workers. Nearly 200 more firefighters remained at the scene, she added.
The building collapse was one of the worst disasters in the history of Latvia, a Baltic nation of slightly more than two million people that won its independence after the fall of the Soviet Union.
Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis declared three days of mourning to begin Saturday. “This sudden and tragic event has shaken our country,” he said.
The interior minister, Rihards Kozlovskis, told reporters that officials were investigating possible construction violations. “It is clear that there has been a problem with the fulfillment of construction requirements,” he told Reuters.
Local residents said that a winter garden had been under construction on the roof of the building, raising speculation that the weight of soil contributed to the disaster.
The collapse occurred in a residential neighborhood called Zolitude, located west of the Daugava River, not far from the city center.
Photographs of the scene showed tangles of debris and shattered glass piled outside the metal and glass building, which was surrounded by dozens of emergency vehicles and an armada of construction equipment, including bulldozers, front-end loaders and at least three cranes.