Rescuers search for survivors of Latvia supermarket cave-in

Rescuers in Latvia frantically combed the rubble of a supermarket on Friday, a day after its roof collapsed on hundreds of shoppers near the capital Riga, killing at least 25 people. The roof of the Maxima supermarket smashed down on customers during peak shopping hours around 6:00 pm on Thursday in the Riga suburb of Zolitude. Hundreds of people were thought to be inside the two-year-old building, and there were fears that many children could have been among them as a high school is near the store. Rescuers rushed to the scene, but many were themselves trapped when the roof of the 500-square-metre (600 square yard) shop caved in a second time, killing at least three firefighters and injuring 10 rescue workers. "By 9:30 am (0730 GMT) 25 bodies have been recovered but several of them have not been identified and we appeal for help to anyone who has missing loved ones they have not been able to contact and who they believe may have been in the Maxima store," police said in a statement. At least 35 people have been injured as a result of the cave-in so far, officials said. Around 200 rescue workers, backed by military personnel, combed through the rubble through the night. "We are working at maximum capacity but it's a very dangerous situation in the building -- it seems likely we will have to continue working all day long," said fire chief Oskars Abolins. The accident shocked the small Baltic state and visiting the scene, Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis said police had launched a criminal investigation to find the cause of the disaster and said he would be holding an emergency meeting Friday morning. "We cannot say anything about the cause yet, but it has been a very tragic night," emergency services spokeswoman Viktorija Sembele told AFP. Speculation about the possible cause centred on plans to cover the roof in grass as part of a greening project. Local council official Juris Radzevics said that plans had been submitted to the council to turn the roof 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 the LNT television channel. Run by the Lithuanian-owned Maxima chain -- Latvia's number two retailer after Rimi -- the supermarket was built in 2011 and was named one of the country's top three architecture projects that year. Maxima published a statement on its website saying the company was "overwhelmed and shocked" by the disaster but that it was not yet aware of the cause and was providing "all the information at our disposal" to the authorities.