Hopes dim as German ice rink rescuers seek missing

By Kerstin Doerr

BAD REICHENHALL, Germany (Reuters) – Hopes of rescuing a
woman and three youths feared trapped under the collapsed roof
of a German ice rink began to fade on Tuesday, just hours after
the bodies of 11 dead were recovered.

Chief fire officer Rudi Zeif 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 some 30
hours after the roof collapsed on Monday.

Cranes worked into the night to remove crushed sections of
roof as hundreds of citizens of this Bavarian town near the
Austrian border gathered in a central square to hold a
candle-light vigil for the victims, mostly children.

“We remain hopeful that there are living people among the
missing that we can rescue,” Zeif said. “As we clear the beams
we’ll send dogs into the rubble to search for them.”

By midday on Tuesday rescuers had recovered the bodies of
11 people, including two teenagers and seven children aged
between nine and 12, all from the Bad Reichenhall area. They
had been enjoying the last stretch of the Christmas holidays.

Workers were forced to suspend the rescue effort for
several hours in the afternoon to wait for heavy lifting gear
to cope with a roof that threatened to give way completely.

Of the roughly 50 people who had been at the ice rink when
the roof crumbled, police said 13 people were still being
treated in hospital. Relatives of the victims and missing
received counseling in a makeshift tent near the rink.

INVESTIGATION INTO CAUSES

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 that 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.

Chancellor Angela Merkel said Germany had been moved by a
tragedy that hit children and young people particularly hard.

“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
said.

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 has been little other cause for cheer.

Questions about the causes of the incident and whether it
could have been prevented swirled amid fears similar disasters
could happen elsewhere in winter weather conditions.

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 snow.

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.