Canada: One feared dead in shopping mall roof collapse (VIDEO)
A portion of a roof collapsed in an Ontario shopping mall on June 23, 2012, leaving 22 people with minor injuries and several missing.
A roof collapse in a shopping mall in Canada on Saturday left at least one person feared dead, 22 with minor injuries, and another trapped under the rubble.
The incident happened at the Algo Center Mall in the Ontario city of Elliot Lake. A portion of the roof that serves as a parking area crumbled down two floors into an area near the food court, says CTV.
More than 24 hours after the collapse, rescue workers were unable to reach parts of the affected area because the structure was too unstable, Associated Press reports.
C News says emergency workers believe there are at least two victims still buried in the debris, one of whom may still be alive.
"Some of our search members this morning heard a couple of taps,” Bill Neadles, incident commander with the heavy urban search and rescue team that was called in from Toronto, is quoted as saying. “They called for quick silence on the site and there was a couple more taps. That was an indication to us that we were dealing with a rescue.”
More on GlobalPost: Man arrested in triple murder near Columbia University (VIDEO)
The names of those unaccounted for were being crossed off as members of the community came forward, the Sudbury Star explained.
Mayor Rick Hamilton reportedly declared a state of emergency in the city after the collapse. At least one vehicle fell through the roof as it collapsed, according to a spokeswoman for the city, said Reuters.
More on GlobalPost: Burglar bites boy's bullet in botched home invasion (VIDEO)
Mall manager Rhonda Bear said that the roof had been repaired within the last year, but that didn't include "any huge structural repairs" to the portion that collapsed. A structural study ordered by the mall's owners, Eastwood Mall Inc., turned up nothing, she said, according to MSNBC.
Here is raw video from the collapse, showing the damaged section of the roof, via MSNBC:
The story you just read is available for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.
Make a gift today, and you’ll get us one step closer to our goal of raising $25,000 by June 14. We need your help now more than ever!