Skating Rink Collapse Kills 10

Search For Survivors Continues In Small Bavarian Town

(AP)  Bavarian broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk reported that a supervisor had ordered the last skaters off the ice seconds before the collapse. It also said loud creaking had been heard just before the accident.

The skating rink is 200 by 100 feet. The building, with large glass windows around its sides, is attached to a municipal swimming pool and tennis court.

Police spokesman Franz Sommerauer said rescue crews had gained access to around half the hall by early Tuesday morning. They were trying to remove the largest chunks of debris with the help of six cranes.

Officials clung on to hope of finding survivors after a 6-year-old girl was rescued with no major injuries more than five hours after the collapse.

Rescue officials, however, expressed concern that anyone still trapped between the debris and the ice would risk hypothermia.

Authorities said families with children were in the building at the time of the accident. Among the confirmed fatalities are a 13-year-old boy, and two girls ages 7 and 8, one of whom was killed along with her mother. A 12-year-old boy who was revived at the scene later died at a hospital.

Police and prosecutors are investigating the accident.

Bad Reichenhall, a town of some 15,000 people, is on the border with Austria and about six miles from the city of Salzburg.