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Roof collapse at Moscow market kills 40
(AP)
Updated: 2006-02-23 18:56
The snow-covered roof of a Moscow market collapsed early Thursday, killing at
least 40 people and forcing rescuers to clear away concrete slabs and metal
beams to reach possible survivors trapped in the wreckage, officials said.
Rescuers carry an injured woman after pulling
her out of the wreckage of the collapsed market in Moscow, Thursday, Feb.
23, 2006. The concave, snow-covered roof of a three-decade-old Moscow
market collapsed early Thursday, killing at least 31 people and trapping
about 10, officials said. [AP] |
Officials
ruled out terrorism and said heavy snow may have been to blame.
Rescue workers used metal cutters and pickaxes to break through the wreckage,
calling through holes in search of survivors. Every few minutes, the rescuers
turned off their electric generators and stood silently to listen for signs of
life.
Medical workers inserted an intravenous drip to administer painkillers and
other medications to a man trapped under a slab of concrete that left only his
hand visible. Rescuers used heat guns to blow warm air into the rubble to try to
prevent victims from succumbing to near freezing temperatures.
It was uncertain how many people were still trapped — dead or alive — under
the wreckage. Emergency Situations Minister Sergei Shoigu said about 10
survivors were trapped earlier in the day, and they could be heard "knocking and
crying out."
But officials have declined to say how many have been pulled out since then.
"There may be people alive under there but time is passing," Emergency
Situations Ministry spokesman Viktor Beltsov said.
Authorities in Poland ordered the roofs of hundreds of buildings cleared of
snow and ice last month after the roof an exhibition hall collapsed, apparently
under the weight of heavy, icy snow, killing 65.
Fifteen people were killed in southern Germany on Jan. 2 when the
snow-covered roof of a skating rink collapsed.
In Russia Thursday, trapped survivors had used mobile phones to call their
family members in an effort to help rescuers find them, said Yuri Akimov, deputy
head of the Moscow department of the Emergency Situations Ministry.
A fire broke out on the edge of the collapse site mid-afternoon, sending
acrid smoke billowing into the air. Beltsov said it erupted when a spark from an
electric saw used to cut through metal ignited some paint, and that it posed no
threat to anyone trapped in the wreckage.
Beltsov said at least 40 people had been killed and 29 injured in the
collapse. A duty officer at the ministry, who spoke on customary condition of
anonymity, said the death toll could have been higher had the collapse occurred
while the market was open for retail business.
A crowd of relatives stood outside the police tape, crying and shouting.
"My brother's in there. He's not answering his phone.... We keep calling
him," a man who identified himself only by his first name, Salekh, told AP
Television News.
Ukhtai Salmanov, a 52-year-old herb-seller from Azerbaijan, said he had been
leaving the market at about 4:50 a.m. when he heard a loud noise and fell to the
ground.
"When I came to, I was lying by the entrance. There was smoke and people were
screaming," Ukhtai said, fighting back tears.
He said his three sisters, who also worked in the
market, were killed.
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