Mall's Walls Fall (FINAL UPDATE- Two Recovered)
Canada
Severe // Collapse
The local newspaper said the crowd was chanting, "Rescue missions never end, save our family and friends." Authorities recovered two bodies nearly 4 days after part of a roof collapsed at a mall in the Northern Ontario city of Elliot Lake. 10 persons listed as missing were not in the mall. Search dogs made sure there were no other victims . - - Shortly after 2pm EDT Saturday June 23 part of the roof of Algo Centre Mall in Elliot Lake, Ontario collapsed, dropping vehicles from the roof-parking area into stores below. The cave-in triggered a gas leak and prompted emergency officials to shut off the mall's power as well as prompting a local state of emergency and a search for anyone who might have been injured in the cave-in. A mall employee said people inside heard what sounded like a “small bump.” He said cars appeared to have fallen through the gaping hole. “You can see the roof with the cars hanging inside,” he said. “Everybody was cleared from the whole mall. After that, there was numerous police and emergency vehicles coming from all over.” Police and emergency crews asked the public to stay away from the area. Mayor Rick Hamilton declared a state of local emergency soon after the roof collapse took place.
The mall houses a grocery store, restaurants, a number of retail outlets and the constituency office for NDP MPP Michael Mantha. The mall is slated for destruction and local residents are calling for an inquiry into what caused delays in implementing a rescue plan.
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