In Ostrava, a Lidl has collapsed, possibly trapping people under the rubble

OSTRAVA - This evening, the roof of the Lidl supermarket collapsed in Ostrava under the weight of heavy snow. At least two people may be trapped under the rubble, said the operational officer of the emergency call center to ČTK. According to the spokesperson of the North Moravian police, reports of the number of people buried vary; it is said that there might not be anyone under the debris. One injury has been identified so far. A twenty-year-old saleswoman has a bruised shoulder, said firefighter spokesperson Petr Kůdela.
The behavior of dogs trained to search for victims in the rubble indicated after about an hour of searching that there might be one person remaining under the roof. Firefighters and rescuers are thus repeatedly entering the building to search it. So far, they have found no one. They are also searching the interior of the store using a special camera mounted on a long arm. There is still a lot of activity at the scene.
The accident occurred at 7:30 PM in the Moravská Ostrava district near the Futurum shopping center. The supermarket was open at the time. However, according to Kůdela, there were few people inside. "They probably felt it collapsing and managed to escape," he stated. Any missing individuals, according to the worker at the emergency information center, will be from among the employees. The roof is damaged over one third of the building, where there was a storage area. Furthermore, the debris got caught on the shelves, and only in one place did it fall to the ground. This created enough space for the employees to exit the building, said a firefighter from the emergency call center to ČTK.
Initially, rescuers believed that five people were trapped under the rubble. After a while, the number of missing persons was reduced to two. However, it is not ruled out that no one is under the roof. Rescuers are now waiting for another dog to help them find a possible victim. At the same time, firefighters are dismantling rubble near the cooling boxes at the back of the building, where two dogs indicated that there might be a buried person.
According to a building technician, the roof is so damaged that it will have to be entirely demolished. The outer walls are not compromised. Firefighters stated that the weight of the snow influenced the roof's collapse. However, a technical defect in the structure could also have been a cause, he noted.
"We have informed all the large shopping centers in Ostrava and the whole region, as they usually have flat or slightly sloped roofs. Owners should start addressing the quality of their construction," said Zdeněk Nytra, director of the Moravian-Silesian Fire Brigade, to Czech Television. Police are monitoring the site. They have still not managed to contact the managing director of the company.
On Tuesday, snow already collapsed the roof of a private company's hall producing artificial stone in Hošťálková in the Vsetín area. A significant part of the roof measuring fifteen by twenty-five meters collapsed into the building's interior. No employees were injured, and the owner estimated the damage at four to five million crowns.
A serious accident occurred in Germany. Snow collapsed the roof of an ice rink in Bad Reichenhall, Bavaria, on Monday. According to the latest information, up to 15 people are believed to have died under the rubble.