Debris is removed as rescue workers continue attempts to secure the building before searching for any survivors at the site of the collapsed roof of the Algo Centre Mall in Elliot Lake, Ont., on Monday.
ELLIOT LAKE, Ont. — Officials have confirmed at least one person has died and 30 others are now unaccounted for after a roof collapsed at a shopping mall in Elliot Lake, Ont.
Rescuers said earlier today that tapping sounds had been heard coming from under the rubble at the Algo Centre Mall around 4 a.m., but residents of the small northern city are expressing grave concern for the fate of those still unaccounted for in the wake of Saturday’s tragic events.
As crews worked around the clock to stabilize the scene and make it safe enough for search and rescue teams to go in today, provincial police said images of the partially collapsed car park roof showed a hand and a foot in the dusty debris.
Bill Needles, a spokesman from the Heavy Urban Search and Rescue team which travelled from Toronto, said the structure and the escalator in the area where the roof collapsed is still shifting.
“It’s still very unstable, very unsafe. We still need to be careful with every move we make.”
Needles added that rescuers are now focusing their efforts on the area where the tapping was heard, and a person is believed trapped.
“This morning around 4 o’clock, the OPP utilized the piece of equipment that they have to again determine that there was signs of life from the one same locations that we had indicated yesterday. And again we’re still diligently working as fast we can towards that person.
“Unfortunately, we’ve got a setback, in that the structure after some of the weight had been removed, from some of the other parts had fallen.. It’s still shifting. It’s become more unstable for us.
“We’ve had to remove our crews to reassess our entry point,” Needles said, adding: “It’s not to say that we have stopped working. We have now gone back to the other avenue from the north to now come back from that entrance, to now start shoring and putting up posts and supporting the roof above, to keep moving towards that void where the person was located this morning.
“We’re still scared, it even has the potential of falling down. We put on some tactile equipment to assess how much movement. It’s still very unstable, still very unsafe, and we have to be careful with every move that we make.”
“We are still moving forward with that rescue… To give you a time frame, I just can’t do that. because now we’re reassessing the whole operation. Moving forward in what is now a different direction. So I don’t have a time frame on when we will be able to make contact.”
The collapsed roof of the Algo Centre Mall is seen from a nearby hill in Elliot Lake, Ont. on Sunday June 24, 2012.
Asource who has been briefed on the recovery effort said this morning that rescuers still believe as many as three people could be trapped alive inside the mall’s wreckage. Authorities don’t know how many casualties there could be beyond the one confirmed death.
“The truth is no one has a handle on how bad it could be,” said the official, who requested anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly.
Late Sunday night, police said there were still nine names on the list of those unaccounted for. That figure rose to 30 early Monday afternoon.
Ontario Provincial Police Insp. Percy Jollymore noted that the number had been fluctuating with some names being taken off the list, and others added.
“It is difficult to determine who was a casual customer or visitor to the mall,” Jollymore said Monday afternoon. “We have been maintaining a list of individuals and we have been encouraging people to call in. We went through the staffing of the mall, who was working, and who we thought would be there, the vehicles parked in the mall, that type of thing.”
Jollymore claimed the missing list had been fluctuating up and down: “Last night the list shortened to about 3 or 4. But overnight it has grown again with people calling in worried about people they hadn’t been in touch with. So, the list was in the high 30s. But I caution, it goes up and down, and as you can imagine, difficult to determine who was a casual customer or visitor to the mall at the time of the collapse. We continue along those lines.”
The roof came down with a thunderous crash just before 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, injuring at least 22 people.
Rescue workers cut timber as attempts continue to secure the building before searching for any survivors at the site of the collapsed roof of the Algo Centre Mall in Elliot Lake, Ontario on Monday June 25, 2012.
Mayor Rick Hamilton told the National Post Monday that people are praying there is a positive outcome.
“We have an expert crew in there. They’re doing a fantastic job. They’re working as quickly and safely as possible. And I would certainly like to commend them on their efforts thus far.”
Hamilton said he couldn’t comment on complaints from residents about mall leaks and suggestions that repairs were needed before the collapse
“The Ministry of Labour is on site, and they will be doing a full investigation. At that point, we will be able to comment and react accordingly. “
Heather Richer owns a restaurant in the mall and was at work when it happened.
“I’m hoping everyone’s found, but I’m giving up hope on whether they’re going to find them alive,” she said Sunday.
Bianka Manning, a teacher from the local French high school V.F.J., said she feared a former high school classmate may be trapped among the wreckage.
Manning said her friend worked at the mall’s lottery kiosk, but she didn’t know if she was inside the mall when the roof caved in.
Manning and two of her students spent all of Sunday night sitting outside the mall wrapped in blankets, waiting for news.
“She might be alone in there, but she wasn’t alone all night,” said Manning, 36. “Somebody was with her — maybe not in there, but we’re out here for her.”
Manning said her friend used to come in to the school to do mock interviews for students in civics class.
A woman checks out the damage after a roof collapsed at the Algo Centre Mall in Elliot Lake, Ont., Saturday, June 23, 2012.
Several candles were lit in front of the mall early this morning.
“We’re the uranium capital, so they say when you’re from Elliot Lake, you glow in the dark,” said Manning. “Hopefully someone’s glowing in there and they’ll find them.”
“Everybody’s blaming everybody, but really, who cares? I’m more concerned about who’s in there and how are they going to get out of there safely,” she said.
The two-storey centre, which was built in the early ’80s, underwent a structural study in May and received a passing grade, said a source with Eastwood Mall Inc., which owns the mall.
Work was being done on the roof before the collapse to prevent leaks, but no “substantial renovations” were underway, the source said.
Some irate city residents, however, insisted the building was much in need of repairs.
“The mall’s always had leaks (and) roof damage,” said Jean-Marc Hayward, who was in the mall at the time of the collapse.
The ceiling of the mall always dripped when it rained, he said.
The northern city, once an Ontario mining hub, is located about 160 kilometres west of Sudbury.
Well wishers leave candles at a vigil as rescue workers continue attempts to secure the building before searching for any survivors at the site of the collapsed roof of the Algo Centre Mall in Elliot Lake, Ontario on Monday June 25, 2012.
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