Rescuers on Sunday abandoned hopes of finding any more survivors under the debris of an exhibition hall in Poland that collapsed on Saturday, killing at least 66 people. The rescue operation in the southern city of Katowice was called off on Sunday afternoon, following a night in which temperatures plunged to -15C. Heavy equipment was brought in to begin clearing away debris.
”The probability that there are still victims underneath is very, very low,” fire chief Kazimierz Krzowski said.
The disaster happened at about 5.15pm on Saturday when the hall’s giant roof collapsed on a gathering of pigeon enthusiasts from across Europe. Pictures taken minutes earlier show delegates sitting on packed trestle tables, drinking beer and munching sandwiches.
Witnesses described a ”strange creaking noise”. The metal roof then fell in, engulfing dozens of the delegates as they tried to flee.
”We heard something snap like a match breaking and people started to panic right away, realising what was happening,” one survivor receiving hospital treatment told Polish television. ”I started to run and something fell on me. Others trampled over me and I was able to crawl out on hands and knees.”
”At first I thought a plane had fallen on the roof,” another woman said. ”The roof first collapsed in the middle. It then spread to all sides, like a game of dominoes.”
Some of those trapped under the debris called for help on their cellphones. One injured man was pinioned between metal sheets.
Rescuers blew warm air into the shattered building but the operation was hampered by bitter, freezing temperatures.
”The hall is full of ice. It’s ice hell,” a rescuer said. ”We cut holes in the roof using axes. We peered in. It was a horrible sight. Some statues for the winners were still on tables. There were lots of dead birds, and bird boxes.”
On Sunday Poland’s President, Lech Kaczynski, confirmed that 66 people had been killed, including two children and seven foreigners, from The Netherlands, Belgium, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Germany. Some 144 people needed hospital treatment, with 19 seriously injured, officials said. The death toll was not expected to rise, the president added, declaring a day of national mourning after what he said was ”the greatest tragedy of the third Polish republic”.
It was not immediately clear why the hall gave way. But the collapse came amid one of the coldest winters in eastern Europe in living memory, which has seen temperatures in Poland, Germany and Russia fall to below -30C. Some survivors blamed heavy snow piled on the roof. The building’s management, however, insisted the snow had been regularly cleared.
Witnesses said two of the emergency exits appeared to be locked.
Franciszek Kowal said that he was inside the building when he saw the roof starting to buckle. He escaped to a terrace, and then jumped about four metres to safety.
He said: ”Luckily nothing happened to me, but I saw a macabre scene, as people tried to break windows in order to get out. People were hitting the panes with chairs, but the windows were unbreakable. One of the panes finally broke, and they started to get out by the window.” – Guardian Unlimited Â