Dozens killed in Latvia store collapse, search ongoing

As many as 51 have been confirmed dead by the Latvian authorities after a supermarket collapsed in Latvia's capital, Riga.

Rescuers yesterday spent a second night sifting through the rubble of a supermarket that collapsed, killing dozens of people.

But rescuers admit that hopes of finding any more survivors inside the Maxima supermarket are fading.

Officials say the weight of soil from a garden being built on the roof of the shop may have caused it to fall in. Thursday's collapse, which killed 51 people, is Latvia's deadliest disaster since it became independent in 1991.

According to media reports, rescue teams are working round the clock at the Maxima, digging in to the wreckage of the single-storey concrete and glass building to see if anyone is still trapped inside.

They have been periodically turning off all their equipment and asking the families of missing people to phone their relatives so they can pinpoint the ring tones in the debris.

The cause of the collapse is still not clear, but it is thought that the weight of soil - after heavy rains - caused the roof to cave in, BBC reports.