Four dead after supermarket roof collapses in Riga

Four people were killed and dozens more were feared trapped after the roof of a busy supermarket in Latvia’s capital Riga collapsed on this evening, a rescue official said.

“Around 30 people are injured, there are four people dead, including one rescue service worker,” rescue service spokeswoman Inga Vetere said.

Riga’s deputy mayor Andris Ameriks said on television that 50 people were trapped. Rescue services said this was only a rough estimate.

“It is very hard to tell because it is a shop and there are many people in the shop at that time of day,” Ms Vetere said.

The cause of the collapse was not known but local media said work was being carried out on the roof before it happened.

The Maxima supermarket, estimated at around 500 square metres in size, was surrounded by ambulances and fire trucks as rescue workers tried to free those trapped inside the building in a Riga suburb.

Reuters