Katowice Trade Hall roof collapse

On 28 January 2006, the roof of one of the buildings at the Katowice International Fair collapsed in Chorzów / Katowice, Poland.

At 16:15 GMT , the central section of the roof of the hall collapsed, possibly due to the weight of snow on the building. According to the police there were roughly 700 people in the hall at the time of the collapse. A further collapse occurred 90 minutes later during rescue operations. Polish government spokesman Krzysztof Mejer confirmed that there had been 65 dead as well as more than 170 injured, including 13 foreigners. There are confirmed deaths of ten foreign tourists – one from Belgium, one from Germany, three from Slovakia, one from the Netherlands, one from Hungary and three from the Czech Republic. The trade hall was hosting the 56th National Exhibition of Carrier Pigeons, with over 120 exhibitors from all over Europe. Poland was at that time experiencing very cold weather with heavy snow. This meant that the rescue operation was undertaken in sub-zero temperatures, putting the survivors inside the building at risk of exposure.

Wikipedia