14th body pulled from ice rink
Mother still missing after roof collapse in Germany
Wednesday, January 4, 2006 Posted: 1923 GMT (0323 HKT)
BAD REICHENHALL, Germany (CNN) -- Rescuers have pulled the bodies of three more children from the ruins of a collapsed skating rink in southeastern Germany and are continuing to search the rubble for one last missing woman.
The death toll following the disaster in the town of Bad Reichenhall, close to the border with Austria, reached 14 on Wednesday, with a 40-year-old mother still believed buried.
About 50 people, many children still on Christmas holidays, were inside the ice rink when it collapsed on Monday. Thirteen people out of the 18 injured remain in hospital, three with serious -- but not life-threatening -- injuries.
One of the survivors, teenager Elfriede Datz, told N24 television from her hospital bed that "all I know is there was a very loud bang, and more I don't know. I can't remember."
Pope Benedict XVI, who grew up nearby, sent a message of sympathy to the grieving town.
"Pope Benedict XVI is remembering in his prayers the people killed in this tragic accident, especially the children, and he is asking the Lord for a speedy help and rescue of those still trapped," a telegram of condolences said, according to The Associated Press.
Rescue workers recovered three bodies Wednesday, the last a girl aged between 12 and 16 years old. "We have to give the sad news that we have found another victim," said Georg Grabner, the chief administrator of the surrounding district of Berchtesgaden. "Only one more person lies buried under the rubble."
The bodies of two boys were found earlier in the day. Rescuers had to clear wreckage with heavy equipment, then sent in teams with dogs trained to detect buried victims. Then more workers entered the shaky ruin, digging with shovels and hands and removing debris with wheelbarrows.
Meanwhile, other structures were checked, and some were evacuated, out of concern that a similar collapse might occur.
In Traunstein, a train station was evacuated because of heavy snow on its roof, until the snow could be cleared. A store in a nearby area was also blocked off.
A foot of snow fell in the 24 hours before the collapse; some of the snowfall has been mixed with sleet, adding to its weight.
About 320 kilometers (200 miles) north of Bad Reichenhall, heavy snow caused the roof of a Lidl supermarket to collapse in Ostrava, Czech Republic, Tuesday night. The store was closed at the time, and the high shelves prevented the roof from crashing to the floor. One employee was slightly hurt.
After the collapse in southern Germany, it took hours for the cranes to be moved through the snow to the high-elevation area, where they began to lift heavy sections of the rink's roof.
Michael Posch, a state government spokesman, said six cranes were moved in shortly after the collapse to shore up the roof in an effort to aid rescuers and to keep it from collapsing further. One person was rescued more than six hours after the accident, he said.
The delay in getting cranes to the site prompted stinging criticism from the press.
"Slackness, ignorance and ineptitude," screamed the headline in a local newspaper.
The local prosecutor said he had launched a criminal investigation into the collapse itself, looking for possible negligence.
There were reports that rink officials had begun evacuating the building shortly before the accident. But Posch said that was not the case.
"This is not true," he said. "The snow load on the roof was far below the limit that is given for evacuation. And so, the danger was unknown and it wasn't expected."
CNN Correspondent Chris Burns and Producer Tomas Etzler contributed to this report.
Copyright 2006 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
Mother still missing after roof collapse in Germany
Wednesday, January 4, 2006 Posted: 1923 GMT (0323 HKT)
BAD REICHENHALL, Germany (CNN) -- Rescuers have pulled the bodies of three more children from the ruins of a collapsed skating rink in southeastern Germany and are continuing to search the rubble for one last missing woman.
The death toll following the disaster in the town of Bad Reichenhall, close to the border with Austria, reached 14 on Wednesday, with a 40-year-old mother still believed buried.
About 50 people, many children still on Christmas holidays, were inside the ice rink when it collapsed on Monday. Thirteen people out of the 18 injured remain in hospital, three with serious -- but not life-threatening -- injuries.
One of the survivors, teenager Elfriede Datz, told N24 television from her hospital bed that "all I know is there was a very loud bang, and more I don't know. I can't remember."
Pope Benedict XVI, who grew up nearby, sent a message of sympathy to the grieving town.
"Pope Benedict XVI is remembering in his prayers the people killed in this tragic accident, especially the children, and he is asking the Lord for a speedy help and rescue of those still trapped," a telegram of condolences said, according to The Associated Press.
Rescue workers recovered three bodies Wednesday, the last a girl aged between 12 and 16 years old. "We have to give the sad news that we have found another victim," said Georg Grabner, the chief administrator of the surrounding district of Berchtesgaden. "Only one more person lies buried under the rubble."
The bodies of two boys were found earlier in the day. Rescuers had to clear wreckage with heavy equipment, then sent in teams with dogs trained to detect buried victims. Then more workers entered the shaky ruin, digging with shovels and hands and removing debris with wheelbarrows.
Meanwhile, other structures were checked, and some were evacuated, out of concern that a similar collapse might occur.
In Traunstein, a train station was evacuated because of heavy snow on its roof, until the snow could be cleared. A store in a nearby area was also blocked off.
A foot of snow fell in the 24 hours before the collapse; some of the snowfall has been mixed with sleet, adding to its weight.
About 320 kilometers (200 miles) north of Bad Reichenhall, heavy snow caused the roof of a Lidl supermarket to collapse in Ostrava, Czech Republic, Tuesday night. The store was closed at the time, and the high shelves prevented the roof from crashing to the floor. One employee was slightly hurt.
After the collapse in southern Germany, it took hours for the cranes to be moved through the snow to the high-elevation area, where they began to lift heavy sections of the rink's roof.
Michael Posch, a state government spokesman, said six cranes were moved in shortly after the collapse to shore up the roof in an effort to aid rescuers and to keep it from collapsing further. One person was rescued more than six hours after the accident, he said.
The delay in getting cranes to the site prompted stinging criticism from the press.
"Slackness, ignorance and ineptitude," screamed the headline in a local newspaper.
The local prosecutor said he had launched a criminal investigation into the collapse itself, looking for possible negligence.
There were reports that rink officials had begun evacuating the building shortly before the accident. But Posch said that was not the case.
"This is not true," he said. "The snow load on the roof was far below the limit that is given for evacuation. And so, the danger was unknown and it wasn't expected."
CNN Correspondent Chris Burns and Producer Tomas Etzler contributed to this report.
Copyright 2006 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
