Risk of cave-in suspends German ice rink rescue

By Kerstin Doerr

BAD REICHENHALL, Germany (Reuters) – German rescuers
suspended efforts on Tuesday to reach a woman and three youths
still feared trapped under an ice rink roof that caved in and
killed at least 11 others, saying it might give way completely.

Local officials said they hoped to resume the recovery
operation later on Tuesday once heavy lifting gear had arrived
and removed what remains of the massive building, whose roof
fell in on Monday after heavy snowfall.

“Whenever it is possible, we will go in with the dogs and
personnel to find those who are still in the wreckage,” chief
fire officer Rudi Zeif told a news conference.

He said there had been no signs of life from the woman and
three youths, aged 12 to 16, that officials believe are still
trapped under the rubble roughly 24 hours after the roof
collapsed.

By late afternoon rescuers had recovered the bodies of 11
people, including two teenagers and seven children aged between
nine and 12, all from the local area of the Bavarian town of
Bad Reichenhall near the Austrian border.

Police said 13 people were still being treated in hospital.
About 50 people in all had been at the ice rink, including many
children enjoying the last stretch of the Christmas holidays.

Under heavy snowfall earlier on Tuesday, some firemen
attached to harnesses were lowered into the wreckage by crane
in order to work safely.

But work with heavy machinery, such as excavators, was
suspended so as not to disturb the remaining structure and
allow sniffer dogs to scour the site. Relatives of the victims
and missing received counseling in a makeshift tent near the
rink.

Six hours after the roof collapsed at around 4 p.m. (1500
GMT) on Monday afternoon, a 5-year old girl was brought out of
the rubble, but there was little other cause for cheer.

Georg Grabner, a local government official, called the
suspension of recovery operations the “only responsible
solution” given the risk to rescuers, some of whom had worked
all night long in freezing conditions.

RACE AGAINST TIME

Chancellor Angela Merkel said Germany had been moved by the
“terrible fate that particularly children and young people have
suffered.”

“We know it is a race against time, but we won’t give up
hope until all the missing have been found or recovered,” she
added.

The state prosecutor, who is examining the causes of the
incident, said police had secured plans and documents related
to the 32-year-old building, but declined to comment on
speculation it was structurally unsound.

“Today is not the day for investigating. It’s a day of
mourning and of hope that someone can still be rescued,” state
prosecutor Helmut Vordermeyer said.

Shortly before the collapse officials canceled a training
session of a local ice hockey team scheduled for the afternoon
amid concern over the volume of snow building up on the roof.

But officials said measurements showed the quantities of
snow were within normally safe limits and there was no
indication of any immediate safety threat.

As a precautionary step, police in nearby Traunstein
evacuated a railway station on Tuesday because of fears its
roof might also collapse under the weight of snow.

Some 500 travelers on a night train from Vienna to Paris
were stranded near Traunstein until late morning due to the
severe weather conditions.

Heavy snow brought down trees and set off avalanches
overnight across the border in Austria, blocking roads and
railways and cutting off electricity to thousands of homes.