Toll May Rise In Moscow Collapse

Rescuers searched Monday for more victims of the weekend roof collapse at a Moscow water park and President Vladimir Putin pledged to punish those who might be responsible for sloppy construction or bad maintenance.

Twenty-five people were confirmed dead in the disaster, which struck Saturday night. Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov said Monday that the death toll could rise by up to 13.

Luzhkov, who visited the ruins of the Transvaal Park on Moscow's southwestern outskirts early in the morning, reaffirmed that there was no hope of finding anyone alive. The victims included seven children, six women and 12 men, city prosecutors said.

Luzhkov and other officials have said there was no evidence of a terrorist act in the collapse of the concrete-and-glass structure on Moscow's southwestern outskirts and pointed to possible construction flaws or poor maintenance.

Prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation into negligence leading to deaths and investigators have started picking up debris of the roof for analysis.

Putin offered his condolences to the victims, promising that the accident would be thoroughly investigated. "The culprits must be punished," he said.

Russian media said that widespread neglect of safety norms and official corruption might have contributed to the disaster.

"In Russia, they try to finish and sell buildings as quickly as possible, and they don't care about what will happen next," the daily Gazeta quoted construction expert Viktor Ovsyanikov as saying.

"The system has collapsed," echoed the daily Vremya Novostei, which said the accident had become the result of cronyism, graft and thefts in the city's construction business.

Experts said that an excessive buildup of snow on the roof and insufficient ventilation could have weakened the structure and made it more vulnerable to the stark difference between the warmth indoors and the cold outside. The temperature was about minus 15C (5F) at the time of the collapse.

Nikolai Koshman, the chief of the government agency in charge of construction, told reporters Monday that an official panel would report a preliminary conclusion by the end of the week.

"Their main task is to look at the foundation, the analysis of the ground conditions, and the design decisions taken … the quality of metal and concrete used," Koshman said.

He said the authorities were checking several facilities of similar design, including Moscow's Luzhniki sports arena.

Koshman's agency already has suspended the licenses of the Turkish company that built the park, Kocak Insaat, and the Russian architectural firm that designed it pending the probe.

Turkish newspapers quoted Ismail Kocak, the company's owner, as denying responsibility.

"We built the roof so that it could withstand 1.5 meters (5 feet) of snow, but there were three meters of snow (10 feet) at the time of the incident," the daily Milliyet quoted him as saying. He denied allegations that low-quality materials were used in construction.

The disaster shocked Muscovites, many already demoralized by a deadly Feb. 6 subway bombing that Putin blamed on Chechen rebels.

City authorities said they would pay 100,000 rubles (about $3,500) to relatives of each victim.

The complex, which opened in 2002, was built in 18 months, Russian media said. It is one of several flashy facilities that have opened in recent years in Moscow, which is rich compared with other parts of Russia and has seen a major construction boom as the nation's oil-fueled economy has grown following a 1998 financial crisis.

By Vladimir Isachenkov