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Hopes dim as German ice rink rescuers seek missing

Posted on: Tuesday, 3 January 2006, 16:01 CST

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.

Source: REUTERS

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