Bad Reichenhall, Germany
A heavy, wet snowfall caved in the roof of an ice-skating rink in southern Germany this week, killing at least six children and five adults. Rescue efforts were delayed because cranes and other equipment couldn’t get through the deep snow to reach the rink. Bad Reichenhall Mayor Wolfgang Heitmeier said officials could not immediately explain why the building gave way. The amount of snow that had piled up on the rink’s roof, he said, was far below the specified safety limit. Similarly heavy snowfalls paralyzed much of Austria and Switzerland this week, and several cities declared states of emergency.
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