Latvia Supermarket Collapse: 21 Killed

Rescue teams are searching among the rubble of a Latvian supermarket which collapsed and killed at least 21 people.

Fire trucks and ambulances remain at the Maxima shopping centre in the capital Riga, and rescue workers are using mechanical cutters and cranes to clear debris from the single-storey building.

Among the dead are three firefighters, an official said.

The roof of the supermarket collapsed on Thursday evening when the store was busy with shoppers on their way home from work.

Firefighters were injured by a second collapse shortly after their arrival on the scene.

Around 200 emergency services personnel are on site

"Twenty-one dead found, searching continues," Latvia's Fire and Rescue Service said in a tweet on Friday.

It is unclear how many people remain trapped in the ruined store.

Rescuers are periodically silencing their equipment and asking relatives to call their loved ones so anyone trapped can be pinpointed.

Work is continuing slowly as remaining sections of the roof are unstable and rescuers are wary of another collapse.

A "greening project" is understood to have been going on on the roof

News agency RIA Novosti quoted Riga's mayor, Nils Usakovs, as saying 70 people were still in the building.

Rescue services said 36 injured people had been rescued and that police sniffer dogs were helping the search.

More than 60 soldiers are also involved with the rescue effort, the army said.

Visiting the scene, Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis confirmed police had launched a criminal investigation into the cause of the incident.

Rescue workers are working slowly in case of a further collapse

Theories about why the roof caved in centre on plans to cover it in grass as part of a greening project.

Council official Juris Radzevics confirmed that the roof of the supermarket, built in 2011, was in the process of being turned into a green area.

"The project was submitted in accordance with all regulations but of course we will be looking at whether materials and works were carried out to the proper standards," Radzevics told Latvian television.

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