At least 21 dead after supermarket collapses in Latvia – NBC News World News

a  Ints Kalnins / ReutersRescuers at the scene in Riga, Latvia, on Thursday.RIGA, Latvia — At least 21 people were killed after a supermarket’s roof collapsed in the Latvian capital, officials said Friday.TV pictures showed the Maxima store surrounded by fire trucks and ambulances with rescue workers using mechanical cutters to clear debris from the single-story concrete and glass building. The roof of the supermarket fell in Thursday evening when the store was busy with shoppers on their way home from work. Rescue workers were called to the store, situated in the midst of gray, Soviet-era housing in a suburb of the capital, and several were injured by a second collapse because of the building’s weakened structure. It was unclear how many people remained trapped in the ruined store. News agency RIA Novosti quoted Riga Mayor Nils Usakovs as saying 70 people were still in the building. Rescue services said 36 injured people had been rescued and police sniffer dogs were searching for people still trapped. Eight of the injured and three of the dead were firefighters, Latvian rescue services spokeswoman Viktorija Sembele said. More than 60 soldiers were helping with the rescue effort, the army said on its official Twitter feed. Latvian TV said three cranes were working to remove concrete blocks from the roof so that rescuers could get to those inside, but firefighters feared another collapse.Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis told Latvian TV that the rescue work would probably go on for many hours. “It is clear that there has been a problem with fulfillment of construction requirements,” Interior Minister Rihards Kozlovskis told Latvian TV by telephone. The police will launch an investigation into the disaster. Local media said workers had been building a roof garden on the store. Local media reported that the Maxima supermarket, estimated at around 5,380 square feet in size, had been awarded an architecture prize when it was completed in 2011. Latvia, which joins the euro zone next year, has been recording strong economic growth after a deep recession in the years following the global credit crisis. It is still one of the poorest countries in Europe, the legacy of nearly 50 years of Soviet rule that came to an end in 1991.This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you’re reading it on someone else’s site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers.21 dead, more feared trapped in Latvian supermarket collapse November 22, 2013 Ints Kalnins / Reuters Emergency services specialists work at a store with a collapsed roof in Riga on Thursday Nov. 21, 2013. By Aija Braslina, Reuters Rescue workers pulled more bodies out of the ruins of a collapsed supermarket in the Latvian capital, Riga, Friday morning, bringing the death toll to 21 amid fears that more people may be buried in the rubble.  TV pictures showed the Maxima store surrounded by fire trucks and ambulances…Several dead, more feared trapped in Latvian supermarket… November 22, 2013 Ints Kalnins / Reuters Emergency service specialists work at a store with a collapsed roof in Riga Nov. 21, 2013. By Aija Braslina, Reuters Rescue workers pulled two more bodies out of the ruins of a collapsed supermarket in the Latvian capital, Riga, early on Friday, bringing the death toll to eight amid fears that more people may be buried in the rubble.  TV pictures showed the Maxima store surrounded by fire trucks and ambulances…Dozens trapped by rubble in South Africa mall collapse:… November 19, 2013 A South African mall under construction has collapsed.   Rescue teams are searching for survivors at the site in Tonhaat which is  north of Durban.     By Alastair Jamieson, Staff writer, NBC News A roof at a South African shopping mall that was under construction collapsed on Tuesday, killing at least one person and injuring at least 26, police said. 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