Well considering the brave bureaucrats in charge decided to pull all the searchers out and let the known trapped people die, I'd say doing ANYTHING at this point could be considered "extreme measures."
Sickening.
A look at the news pics and Google Maps shows that the collapse was a fairly minor affair, in structural terms. It was one short row of slabs in the roof/parking deck that fell. The way I interpret the reports of the rescue call-off is that they were unwilling to crawl under the collapsed material, but really, I find it mystifying that it is such a difficult matter.
It seems to me that the whole structure is kind of funky. It’s built into a hillside, so cars drive right on to the parking deck from roadways. The news photos of the collapse show a very thin deck, and it’s not evident what held it up. The section that collapsed is short, and extends between two superstructures extending above the deck, so I immediately suspect some kind of deficient design which “tied off” this problematic configuration. I.e. an accident waiting to happening over many years.
This is in Elliot Lake, Ontario, a metropolis of 11,000 in “Northern Ontario”, even though it’s south of the 48th parallel, about even with Duluth. Just surveying the area in Google Maps gives the feeling of funky factors in operation. Your mileage may vary.
When I began reading this story I immediately thought about those brave firemen, policemen and other first responders who ran into the buildings and risked their lives to save others during 911 without giving it a second thought. How times have changed.
“Part of the mall roof collapsed on Saturday, but since then, beams and slabs have been falling too, CBC’s Ioanna Roumeliotis said. The changing conditions hampered search and rescue efforts and eventually made it too dangerous for crews to be near the “totally unsafe” building, a rescue official said earlier Monday.”
So, a woman just happens to be able to gain access to the building to view the carnage? (Photo)
“A woman checks out the damage after Saturday’s roof collapse at the Algo Centre Mall in Elliot Lake, Ont. (Cora Richer/Canadian Press)”
Up wid dat????? How about throwing in a baby stroller for the “photo-0p”?