Fire-fighters killed as garage ceiling collapses

At least five firefighters were killed when the ceiling of a parking garage collapsed during a blaze in Switzerland today, officials said.

Their bodies were recovered by nightfall, after 10 hours of searching amid thick smoke pouring out of the rubble.

Rescuers continued to search for two others still missing.

Paul Haus, chief of the Schoenewerd Fire Department said: “As long as we are uncertain that they are dead, we won’t give up hope that they will survive.”

But Frank Wilhelm, spokesman for the Solothurn state police, said, “Hope is diminishing every minute. The situation is very grave.”

Authorities believe this morning’s blaze started in a car parked in the garage at an apartment complex in Gretzenbach.

The missing firefighters were part of a group of 11 who entered the garage shortly before the roof collapsed at daybreak, Wilhelm said.

Three of the firefighters were able to free themselves and a fourth was rescued and hospitalised for smoke inhalation, said Joerg Gabi, chief of the police unit at the scene.

Rescuers initially had radio contact with the trapped firefighters, but that was lost, Wilhelm said.

The garage was under a playground lined with trees and park benches. The collapse left a crater three metres deep and 30 metres across.

The rescue operation was a slow process as heavy equipment was used to remove soil and grass on top of the concrete roof. Only then could they tackle the tightly compacted rubble beneath.

Alexandra Kuhn said she and the 100 residents of the apartment complex were woken up at 6.30am (0530 GMT) and told to leave the building.

The stairs leading out of the building were full of smoke because the buildings were connected to the garage, she said.

Residents were allowed to return to their apartments by mid afternoon.