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| Latvia president calls supermarket collapse 'murder' | Latvia president calls supermarket collapse 'murder' |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The Latvian president has described the collapse of a supermarket in the capital Riga as "murder". | The Latvian president has described the collapse of a supermarket in the capital Riga as "murder". |
| Andris Berzins said many defenceless people had been killed and that should be the basis for the investigation into the disaster. | |
| The current death toll is 52 but some 10 families have told police they have missing relatives. | The current death toll is 52 but some 10 families have told police they have missing relatives. |
| Officials say soil from a garden being built on the roof of the shop may have caused the collapse. | Officials say soil from a garden being built on the roof of the shop may have caused the collapse. |
| Latvia has begun three days of national mourning for Thursday's tragedy, the deadliest disaster since the former Soviet republic gained independence in 1991. | Latvia has begun three days of national mourning for Thursday's tragedy, the deadliest disaster since the former Soviet republic gained independence in 1991. |
| "This case must be treated as the murder of many unprotected people," President Berzins told public LTV broadcaster. | "This case must be treated as the murder of many unprotected people," President Berzins told public LTV broadcaster. |
| He said an investigation should be held at "maximum speed". | He said an investigation should be held at "maximum speed". |
| The BBC's Damien McGuinness, reporting from Riga, says it was an extraordinary interview by the president. | |
| Mr Berzins called for independent investigators from abroad to carry out the probe, implying powerful business interests within Latvia are too closely entwined with politics to ensure a fair and honest investigation, our correspondent notes. | |
| Fading hopes | |
| Rescue teams have been working round the clock at the Maxima supermarket, digging in the wreckage of the single-storey concrete and glass building to see if anyone is still trapped inside. | |
| They have been periodically turning off all their equipment and asking the families of missing people to phone their relatives so they can pinpoint the ring tones in the debris. | |
| There was a temporary halt to the rescue effort on Saturday morning for consultations with engineers amid fears the remainder of the roof could collapse. | |
| Ten families have told the police that they believe their loved ones could be among the rubble, our correspondent says. | |
| But, 48 hours on, hopes of finding anyone else alive are fading, he adds. | |
| Many people have been laying flowers and lighting candles in commemoration of the dead. | |
| Thirteen firefighters were among some 40 wounded, and 29 people were in hospital as of Saturday morning, the fire and rescue service said. | |
| The initial collapse happened just before 18:00 (16:00 GMT) on Thursday, when the Maxima store was busy with customers. | |
| About 20 minutes later another part of the roof caved in, trapping rescue workers who were trying to reach survivors. | |
| Witnesses said customers tried to run out after the first part of the roof collapsed but the supermarket's electronic doors closed, trapping them inside. | |
| A rooftop garden with children's playground was being built on the top of the building. There is speculation it may have been unable to support the large amount of building materials and soil that was believed to be on the roof at the time. | |
| Local media said the building, rented by the Maxima chain, had been awarded a national architecture prize when it was completed in 2011. | |
| But the inquiry will now investigate whether building regulations were broken. |