Roof collapse at Moscow market kills 40
(AP)
Updated: 2006-02-23 18:56

The snow-covered roof of a Moscow market collapsed early Thursday, killing at least 40 people and forcing rescuers to clear away concrete slabs and metal beams to reach possible survivors trapped in the wreckage, officials said.

Rescuers carry an injured woman after pulling her out of the wreckage of the collapsed market in Moscow, Thursday, Feb. 23, 2006. The concave, snow-covered roof of a three-decade-old Moscow market collapsed early Thursday, killing at least 31 people and trapping about 10, officials said. [AP]

Rescue workers used metal cutters and pickaxes to break through the wreckage, calling through holes in search of survivors. Every few minutes, the rescuers turned off their electric generators and stood silently to listen for signs of life.

Medical workers inserted an intravenous drip to administer painkillers and other medications to a man trapped under a slab of concrete that left only his hand visible. Rescuers used heat guns to blow warm air into the rubble to try to prevent victims from succumbing to near freezing temperatures.

It was uncertain how many people were still trapped — dead or alive — under the wreckage. Emergency Situations Minister Sergei Shoigu said about 10 survivors were trapped earlier in the day, and they could be heard "knocking and crying out."

But officials have declined to say how many have been pulled out since then.

"There may be people alive under there but time is passing," Emergency Situations Ministry spokesman Viktor Beltsov said.

Authorities in Poland ordered the roofs of hundreds of buildings cleared of snow and ice last month after the roof an exhibition hall collapsed, apparently under the weight of heavy, icy snow, killing 65.

Fifteen people were killed in southern Germany on Jan. 2 when the snow-covered roof of a skating rink collapsed.

In Russia Thursday, trapped survivors had used mobile phones to call their family members in an effort to help rescuers find them, said Yuri Akimov, deputy head of the Moscow department of the Emergency Situations Ministry.

A fire broke out on the edge of the collapse site mid-afternoon, sending acrid smoke billowing into the air. Beltsov said it erupted when a spark from an electric saw used to cut through metal ignited some paint, and that it posed no threat to anyone trapped in the wreckage.

Beltsov said at least 40 people had been killed and 29 injured in the collapse. A duty officer at the ministry, who spoke on customary condition of anonymity, said the death toll could have been higher had the collapse occurred while the market was open for retail business.

A crowd of relatives stood outside the police tape, crying and shouting.

"My brother's in there. He's not answering his phone.... We keep calling him," a man who identified himself only by his first name, Salekh, told AP Television News.

Ukhtai Salmanov, a 52-year-old herb-seller from Azerbaijan, said he had been leaving the market at about 4:50 a.m. when he heard a loud noise and fell to the ground.

"When I came to, I was lying by the entrance. There was smoke and people were screaming," Ukhtai said, fighting back tears.

He said his three sisters, who also worked in the market, were killed.