Shoppers feared trapped in toy store roof collapse(Maryland)

ANOTHER freak accident in the Northeast!

this is getting freaky

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Shoppers feared trapped in toy store roof collapse
Dogs to aid search
Saturday, February 22, 2003 Posted: 2:13 PM EST (1913 GMT)


HYATTSVILLE, Maryland (CNN) -- Rescue teams are hoping to use thermal imaging equipment and rescue dogs to hunt for shoppers who may have been trapped when a Maryland toy store roof collapsed Saturday, officials said.

The roof of the Toys 'R' Us store in the Landover Hills area is believed to have collapsed under the weight of heavy rains and melting snows, Maryland officials said.

"There is a strong possibility that we have customers who were shopping at the time and were not able to escape," said Prince George's County spokesman Mark Brady. "Firefighters have done a preliminary search of the building, but because of the instability we had to pull them out."

Brady said all of the store's employees, about 15, were accounted for, and three had been transferred to hospitals for treatment of minor injuries.

A spokesman for Prince George's County Hospital Center said one person had been admitted and was listed in fair condition.

About 90 percent of the building's roof had collapsed, Brady said, leaving only the section above the front entrance and checkout area.

The collapse occurred shortly before noon, he said, "in the middle of a torrential rainstorm."

The rain, along with about two feet of snow that fell in the area last week, have weighed down roofs across the state.

"According to employees that were inside they store, the only notice they got was just seconds prior to the collapse when they heard a noise like a train going by," Brady said.

CNN affiliate WJLA reported roof collapses in Anne Arundel and Howard Counties, and there were unconfirmed reports of collapses in St. Georges and Montgomery Counties.

In Anne Arundel County, the roof of the Grand Rental Station in Odenton, fell in, resulting in major structural damage.

In Howard County, a Clarkesville barn roof collapsed, trapping four horses inside.