Five dead as skating rink roof collapses

Five people were killed and up to 10 were missing after the roof of an ice skating rink in southern Germany collapsed following heavy snowfall.

Five people were killed and up to 10 were missing after the roof of an ice skating rink in southern Germany collapsed following heavy snowfall, police said.

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Officials said five people were confirmed dead on Monday, including two children. About 25 people with medium to severe injuries were pulled from the wreckage of the ice rink, police said.

A further 10 people were feared to be trapped in the facility in the town of Bad Reichenhall, located high in the Bavarian Alps near the Austrian border, said police spokesperson Fritz Braun.

"We are trying to lift the collapsed section of the roof and send in search dogs," Braun said.

Heavy snow hampered rescue efforts and delayed the arrival of heavy equipment and a crane to lift the collapsed 60-metre-long roof. Both German and Austrian rescue teams were at the scene and the injured were flown by helicopter to hospitals in the nearby Austrian city of Salzburg.

There were fears that some of the injured who were trapped could freeze to death, given temperatures just below freezing.