Rescue workers pulled more bodies from the ruins of a collapsed supermarket in the Latvian capital, Riga, on Friday, taking the death toll to 32 with others feared buried in the rubble.
Cranes lifted large slabs from the wreckage of the Maxima store, in a suburb of grey, Soviet-era housing, to try to find those trapped after the roof collapsed on Thursday when it was full of shoppers on their way home from work.
The store, about 500 square meters (5,380 square feet) in size, was bathed in spotlights as diggers and rescue workers cleared away the wreckage. Ambulances and fire engines stood by.
Police said the death toll had risen to 32. It included three rescue workers.
“In the past hours no survivors have been found,” said Viktorija Sembele, rescue service spokeswoman.
Earlier, ambulance service spokeswoman Ilze Buksa told local television 28 people had been injured and taken to hospital.
It was not clear what caused the collapse, but Interior Minister Rihards Kozlovskis told local television: “It is clear that there has been a problem with fulfilment of construction requirements.”
Local media said workers had been building a roof garden on the store, a single-storey building located in a Riga suburb about a 30 minute drive from the city center.
Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis said the collapse had shattered Latvia, a former Soviet republic which will join the euro zone next year.
“In our thoughts we are together with all those who have been stricken by this tragedy,” BNS news agency quoted him as saying. “No matter what the cause of the tragedy is, the number of victims is too big.”
Đăng ký: VietNam News
