Latvia In Mourning As Death Toll In Supermarket Collapse Rises

Rescuers search for survivors at the site where the Maxima supermarket roof collapsed in Riga, leaving dozens dead.

Latvians are mourning the death of at least 52 people in a busy Riga supermarket collapse.

The first day of an official three-day period of mourning in the Baltic country begins on November 23.

Riga Fire and Rescue Service spokeswoman Viktorija Sembele has told reporters on the same day that a part of the collapsed supermarket still needs to be searched for survivors.

She said there was a chance more victims could be found but the risk of further collapse makes rescue efforts dangerous.

The cause of the collapse on November 21 is under investigation, but officials said workers had been building a winter garden on the roof of the supermarket.

Police said the collapse is possibly related to flaws in the design or poor construction work on the building, which was constructed in 2011.

The supermarket collapse is considered to be Latvia's deadliest disaster since independence in 1991


Based on reporting by AP and AFP