RIGA, Latvia: The death toll from the rush-hour disaster Thursday evening at the Maxima supermarket in Riga rose to 48 on Friday, including three firefighters, police said. Spokesman Toms Sadovskisk said the death toll is expected to go even higher, and that six of the dead were still unidentified.
Another 35 people were injured, 28 of them hospitalized, including 10 firefighters struck just as they entered the unstable building, the Fire and Rescue Service said.
It was the largest tragedy for the Baltic state since it regained independence in 1991. Latvia’s government declared three days of mourning starting Saturday.
The rescue agency could not say how many people might be trapped under the rubble in the densely populated, working-class neighborhood between downtown Riga and the city’s airport. The reason for the collapse during shopping rush-hour Thursday was still not known but rescue and police officials said that possible theories include building’s design flaws and poor construction work.
Pictures from residential buildings overlooking the store showed an enormous crater-like hole in the roof. Building materials were stacked on remaining sections of the roof, where workers were building a garden as part of the Maxima supermarket’s original design plan.
The Fire and Rescue Service said 35 people were injured, 28 of whom were hospitalized, including 10 firefighters. The service could not say how many people might be trapped under the rubble. Several large construction cranes hauled debris from the hole, where firefighters slowly sifted looking for survivors.
Rescue workers periodically turned off all equipment and asked relatives of missing people to call so that they can pinpoint ringing phones, rescue service spokeswoman Viktorija Sembele said.
She said work was proceeding slowly since both the rubble and remaining sections of roof were like a house of cards and could easily collapse further if a wrong piece is moved or lifted.
48 people killed in Latvia supermarket roof collapse
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