Roof collapse kills 15 people in Germany

Rescue workers raced against time to find survivors who were trapped under the roof of an ice rink that collapsed like a house of cards.

An ice rink whose roof collapsed killing up to 15 people, including children, could cave in completely, hampering efforts to reach those still trapped, German rescue services said on Wednesday.

HT Image

Schools in the region were on holiday and many children and their parents were inside the building in the Bavarian town of Bad Reichenhall, near the Austrian border, when the roof, weighed down by masses of snow, fell in on Tuesday.

Rescuers worked through the night to remove wreckage and warned that what remained of the building was in danger of collapse.

"We have found the external walls have moved outwards ... If they go any further then we will have to suspend the rescue effort," said chief fire officer Rudi Zeif.

By early afternoon rescuers had recovered the bodies of 11 people, including a woman, two teenagers and six children aged between nine and 12, all from the local area.

Police said four people were still buried in the wreckage, although the chance of finding any alive appeared slim.

"It's unfortunately deathly quiet in the hall," a spokesman said during the night.

Three other people, known to be holidaying in the area, were unaccounted for, Hubertus Andrae, police director of the nearby town of Traunstein, told a news conference today. It was not clear whether they had been at the rink.

Thirteen others, among 50 who were in the building when it collapsed, were still being treated in hospital, he added.