Heavy snowfall caused roofs across Poland to collapse Tuesday, but no deaths were reported just nine days after the country's worst building disaster claimed 65 lives when the roof of a huge exhibition hall caved in on hundreds of people.
Clients were evacuated from the large Champion-brand hyper-market after cracks appeared on walls of the building in Jaworzno, southern Poland. The cracks occurred as heavy snowfall accumulated on the roof.
The roof of a large farm hall housing around 6,500 turkeys also came crashing down Tuesday as a farm hand was shovelling snow off the top of the building in Tuszewo, north-eastern Poland. The man survived, but some of the birds did not, according to Polish Radio.
No injuries or deaths were reported when the roof of an auto mechanic's garage catering to long-haul lorries collapsed earlier Tuesday in nearby Niedzica.
Reports indicated that at least two other large area roofs had collapsed Tuesday under the weight of snow. No injuries were reported.
Poland's Interior Ministry has ordered building inspectors across the country to ensure snow was removed regularly from all large-area roofs, particularly atop buildings open to the public.
Panic over the risk of snow-related building disasters has swept Poland after a sprawling 10,000 square metre roof on a Katowice exhibition hall crashed down on hundreds, killing 65 people late last month. It proved the worst catastrophe of its kind in Poland.
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