Dangerous shopping: the roof collapsed in one of the shopping centers in Riga

On Thursday evening, the roof and wall of the Maxima shopping center in one of the sleeping areas of Riga collapsed. Another wall collapsed as the area was cleared of rubble. The collapse area is about 500 sq.m. 45 people died and dozens more were injured. Among the dead were at least three rescuers.

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1. On the evening of November 21, in one of the districts of Riga - Zolitude - the roof of a shopping center collapsed. The main blow fell on the cash desks and the vegetable department of the Maxima store, as well as on the Drogas store located in the shopping center. Some time after the start of the rubble, the remains of the roof collapsed, covering the firefighters who worked there.

2. As one of the eyewitnesses of the incident said, one of the columns holding the roof of the supermarket collapsed. “The fire alarm went off and people were told to leave the building. Not everyone heeded the call, some continued to shop.”

3. The shopping center was built in 2011.

4. The cause of the collapse is still unknown, however, according to various sources, a playground or a winter garden was being built on the roof of the shopping center, which could have caused the collapse.

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6. The State Police of Latvia put forward 3 versions of the causes of the tragedy: the first version is related to violations in the design and supervision of the building, the second - with the construction of a shopping center, the third - with the storage of building materials on the roof.

7. A criminal case has been initiated on the fact of the collapse of the roof of the shopping center.

8. According to the Minister of the Interior of Latvia, Rihards Kozlovskis, the tragedy happened through the fault of people. “We are not talking about some storms and earthquakes. The building collapsed during peacetime. This means that there are guilty parties,” the minister said.

9. President of Latvia Andris Berzins expressed condolences to the families of the victims, calling the incident an incomprehensible tragic incident.

10. The families of the dead rescuers will be paid 10 thousand lats each.

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