RIGA, Latvia — As Latvian rescue workers searched Friday for bodies in the rubble of a supermarket collapse, speculation about the cause turned to possible construction flaws where builders were putting a garden and playground on the grass- and gravel-covered roof.
The death toll from the Thursday evening roof collapse at the Maxima supermarket in Latvia’s capital had risen to at least 51, including three firefighters, police said. Spokesman Toms Sadovskis said the death toll is expected to go higher.
Riga Mayor Nils Usakovs told reporters that large bags of earth and sand on a weak spot on the roof could have caused the collapse. It had rained for days, leading to speculation that the soil had become soaked and weighed down.
Deputy Mayor Andris Ameriks said that several reinforced steel beams fell over at once, which might indicate that engineers failed to properly calculate load pressure on the roof.
