Rescue workers on Saturday evening recovered the bodies of seven firefighters trapped underground after the roof of an underground car park in the northern town of Gretzenbach collapsed. The firefighters were members of a voluntary firefighting unit called out in the early hours of Saturday to tackle a fire in the car park, located underneath a housing block. Ten firefighters were in the car park when the concrete ceiling collapsed without warning. "They didn't have a second of time," said one fireman. "There was a crack, then the roof came down." Three managed to make their own way to safety while one was rescued. Around 200 rescue workers, including soldiers, using heavy equipment attempted the entire day to reach the buried firefighters. Rescuers had initially remained in contact with the trapped firefighters but as the morning progressed communications lines were cut and thick smoke was reported to have poured out of the rubble. No life signs were reported from the missing personnel since 10:00 a.m. The cause of the original fire was under investigation. Residents from nearby buildings were evacuated.
