TMCnet News
LEAD: Roof collapses in Poland, killing at least 32+(Japan Economic Newswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)BERLIN, Jan. 29_(Kyodo) _ (EDS: UPDATING WITH LATEST DEATH TOLL) The roof of an exhibition hall collapsed Saturday in the southern Polish city of Katowice, killing at least 32 people and injuring more than 100, the Associated Press reported Sunday. As many as 500 people were attending an international pigeon racing fair in the hall when the roof collapsed Saturday evening, the report said. Rescue teams and dogs searched in freezing temperatures for more than six hours in the pre-dawn darkness, but no survivors have been found in the debris, it said. The AP quoted Krzysztof Mejer, a spokesman for the government of the Silesia region, as saying that at least 32 had died and 141 were injured. The weight of snow on the roof may have led to the collapse, and police are trying to determine the cause. The pigeon fair in Katowice, about 300 kilometers south of Warsaw, involved more than 120 exhibitors from Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland and other European countries. Cold waves have hit central and eastern Europe since late last year. In southern Germany, the snow-covered roof of an indoor skating rink collapsed Jan. 2, killing 15 people, including 12 children. The Japanese Embassy in Warsaw told Kyodo News there have been no reports of any Japanese citizens at the Polish pigeon fair. |