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Monday, Jun 25, 2012 10:15 PM UTC

Officials suspend rescue efforts in mall collapse

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Topics: From the Wires,

Officials suspend rescue efforts in mall collapseA woman checks out the damage after a roof collapsed at the Algo Centre Mall in Elliot Lake, Ontario, Saturday, June 23, 2012. The partial collapse prompted a local state of emergency and a search for anyone who might have been injured in the cave-in. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Cora Richer)(Credit: AP)

ELLIOT LAKE, Ontario (AP) — Officials have suspended rescue efforts following a weekend roof collapse at a shopping mall in northern Ontario that led to at least one death and at least one other person trapped.

Bill Needles, a spokesman from the Heavy Urban Search and Rescue team, said Monday the building is “totally unsafe” and could collapse at any time. He says they can’t put rescue officials at risk. He says the condition of the building has deteriorated.

Needles earlier confirmed one person died and said crews used a remote device called the life detector to determine a person was breathing as of 4 a.m. — days after the Saturday afternoon collapse.

He says it’s too unsafe to send someone down again to see if the person is still alive.

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