60 killed in Polish hall collapse

Chorzow: At least 60 people were killed when the roof of an exhibition centre collapsed in southern Poland on Saturday, with rescue workers toiling overnight in sub-zero temperatures amid fears that the toll could rise further.

Sixty bodies had been pulled from the debris on Sunday and a further 141 people were injured when the tragedy struck the town of Chorzow, in the Katowice conurbation, rescue workers said early on Sunday.

Kazimierz Krzowski, head of the Polish fire services told reporters that a Belgian man was among the dead.

"Other foreigners were injured," he added, without giving details.

Other reports spoke of two Germans, a Czech, a Belgian, a Slovak and at least two Dutch people being among those injured.

Temperatures at the scene were around minus 15 degrees Celsius (5 degrees Fahrenheit) and rescue workers feared that the intense cold, coupled with heavy snow, would diminish the chances of survival for the dozens who could still be trapped in the rubble.

"The (sniffer) dogs have located 13 places where there are bodies but it is impossible to determine how many people will be found there," he said.

Identification of all the corpses would begin later in the morning, he added.

The roof collapsed under heavy snow at 1715 hrs, IST (1615 GMT) on Saturday during a pigeon-fanciers' show, which drew enthusiasts from several European countries.

Rescuers with sniffer dogs and lifting equipment were working to reach survivors under the jumble of metal beams and sheets, racing against time as the freezing temperatures threatened to take more lives.

Hundreds of troops, police and emergency service workers joined the search for survivors and the grim retrieval of bodies.

Voices of the injured could be heard during the early part of the rescue operation, and several people trapped inside had used their mobile phones to call rescuers and family.

The region had recently received more than 30 centimeters (about a foot) of snow, and among the wreckage a metre (three foot) -thick layer of heavy snow was visible.

The accident came less than four weeks after 15 people were killed in neighboring Germany when the roof of a skating rink collapsed under the weight of snow.