Four still missing in wrecked rink
Bad Reichenhall, Germany Rescuers halted the search Tuesday for four people buried under a fallen skating rink roof, as fears of another collapse forced officials to call in a special heavy crane to lift massive crossbeams from the wreckage.
With two loud cracks, the roof caved in Monday after a heavy snowfall with about 50 people inside, including many children. Eleven people were confirmed dead, including six children, and police said four more – a 40-year-old woman and two boys and a girl – were still under the rubble in the Alpine spa town of Bad Reichenhall.
Officials said they hadn’t given up hope, but the delay would mean a second straight night in freezing temperatures for anyone still left alive. Several hundred people gathered for a candlelight vigil for the dead and the missing at the town hall, and churches rang their bells for 20 minutes.
Quake survivors ailing with chest infections
Muzaffarabad, Pakistan Hundreds of quake survivors lined up outside a field hospital Tuesday to seek treatment for chest infections and other cold-related ailments after a blast of freezing rain hit northern Pakistan, health workers said.
Weather conditions improved in Pakistan’s portion of Kashmir, allowing two helicopters to leave from the main city of Muzaffarabad for the first time in two days, said Pakistan’s army, which has been delivering winterized tents, clothes, food and other aid to survivors.
Scores of people – many parents carrying children with respiratory infections – lined up for treatment at the hospital in Muzaffarabad, one of the areas worst-hit by the Oct. 8 quake that killed more than 80,000 people and left 3.5 million homeless.
Cold rain pelted the quake zone Sunday and Monday, and 2 feet of snow fell in Kashmir and northwestern Pakistan since Saturday.
The U.N. estimates 2.5 million people are living in tents below 5,000 feet, and as many as 400,000 others are in higher areas where it is feared that snow and rain will make it harder for helicopters and trucks to reach them.
Venezuela, Bolivia discuss energy, trade
Caracas, Venezuela President Hugo Chavez offered Bolivia’s president-elect an energy and trade program Tuesday as the two leftists cemented ties, reasserting their opposition to U.S. policy in Latin American.
Fresh from a visit with Cuba’s Fidel Castro, Evo Morales said in Caracas at the start of a seven-nation world tour that he and the Venezuelan leader were uniting in a “fight against neoliberalism and imperialism.”
Morales’ next stops are Spain, France, Belgium, South Africa, China and Brazil – but not Washington. Morales’ spokesman says he was not invited to Washington, where officials have expressed concern of the growing alliance between Morales, Chavez and Castro.
The Venezuelan leader received him with full military honors as well as hugs and smiles. Crowds of leftist, pro-government supporters cheered as Morales and Chavez arrived at the National Pantheon in downtown Caracas, then headed to a private meeting at Miraflores Palace.
During the trip, Morales is expected to discuss with other leaders Bolivia’s vast natural gas holdings – the second-largest in South America – which he has said he wants to nationalize.