Moscow – The snow-covered roof of a large Moscow market collapsed today, killing at least 52 people and forcing rescuers to clear away concrete slabs and metal beams to reach possible survivors trapped in the wreckage.
Rescue workers used metal cutters and pickaxes to break through the wreckage, calling through holes in search of survivors. Every few minutes, the rescuers turned off their electric generators and stood silently to listen for signs of life.
Emergency Situations Ministry spokeswoman Natalya Lukash said at least 52 people were killed and 32 injured.
Medical workers inserted an intravenous drip to administer painkillers and other medications to a man trapped under a slab of concrete that left only his hand visible. Rescuers used heat guns to blow warm air into the rubble to try to prevent victims from succumbing to near-freezing temperatures.
Officials ruled out terrorism and said heavy snow may have been to blame for the collapse of the concave roof, which occurred about 5 a.m., shortly before the market was to open to the public.
Investigators were looking at three possible causes of the collapse: improper maintenance, a buildup of snow and errors in the building’s design, Moscow prosecutor Anatoly Zuyev said.
The collapse came after snow-laden roofs collapsed in Poland and southern Germany earlier this year, killing some 80 people and raising troubling questions about safety standards.
Emergency officials said it was impossible to say how many people had been in the market, one of Moscow’s largest, at the time of the collapse. But survivors and witnesses said it could have been 100 or more.
“There would have been a lot of people there,” said Maria, a Moldovan woman who gave only her first name and said she had been on her way to the market to buy herbs.
Many survivors called relatives using cell phones, helping rescuers find them, said Yuri Akimov, deputy head of the Moscow department of the Emergency Situations Ministry.
“There may be people alive under there but time is passing,” Emergency Situations Ministry spokesman Viktor Beltsov said.
He added that many panels had fallen on top of one another “so it would be hard for a person to be (alive) in there.” A fire broke out on the edge of the collapse site but posed no threat to anyone trapped in the wreckage, Beltsov said.
The market, where produce, meat and dairy products are sold along with household goods, is in an east-central area of the Russian capital and is not among those most popular with foreigners.
The victims were municipal and market workers. Most Moscow markets are staffed by migrants from the former Soviet republics of the Caucasus region and Central Asia. Russian media reported some market workers lived in the basement of the building; many migrants encounter trouble getting police permission to live in Moscow apartments.
Rescue dogs were helping search for survivors, Beltsov said, and bright searchlights were trained on the rubble as darkness fell.
Two to three inches of snow had fallen overnight in Moscow, on top of 18.5 inches that had fallen since the start of winter, according to the Russian Weather Service.
Ekho Moskvy radio said the roof spanned about 21,528 square feet and had completely fallen onto the market stalls. A sagging section of curved wall decorated with a banner showing fresh vegetables appeared to be the only part of the building left standing.
Mayor Yuri Luzhkov said the roof was designed to clear itself of snow and had a special gutter pipe that was always left open to funnel away melted snow.
“So there was no special need to have the roof cleared of snow,” the mayor told reporters.
Prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation on charges of negligence leading to the deaths of two or more people, RIA-Novosti said.
Ukhtai Salmanov, a 52-year-old herb-seller from Azerbaijan, said he was near one of the market’s exits about 4:50 a.m. when he heard a loud noise, then fell and lost consciousness “There was smoke and people were screaming,” Salmanov said, his clothes covered in dust. Fighting back tears, he said his three sisters, who also worked in the market, were killed.
Relatives of market workers milled around in the falling snow on a slush-covered street across from the market, which was cordoned off with police tape and surrounded by cranes and fire trucks.
Cries and shouts rang out as emergency workers read off the names of the hospitalized, and one woman was pulled away, wailing, after hearing her brother was killed.
The market was built in 1974, Luzhkov said. Interfax said it had been designed by Nodar Kancheli, the same architect who drafted the plans for Moscow’s Transvaal water park, where the roof collapsed in February 2004, killing 28 people. Prosecutors have blamed that collapse on design flaws.
Kancheli visited the market early today, and was later questioned by investigators, Russian news agencies reported.
“I think one possibility is a big build up of snow,” Kancheli told Ekho Moskvy. “And they set up kiosks on the mezzanine, which was not originally planned.” He said corrosion also could have played a role.
