The roof of a skating rink partially collapsed while the ice was being resurfaced during a youth hockey tournament Sunday, and emergency crews used cadaver dogs to search through the rubble for anyone who might have been trapped.
Everyone who got out of the Rostraver Ice Garden was OK, but emergency officials didn't know how many people had been in the building and were searching the site, about 30 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.
The director of operations for Rostraver West Newton Emergency Services said a 100-by-200-foot section of the roof fell Sunday afternoon.
“There are some people unaccounted for,” Director Mike Stangroom said.
Kim Little, a line cook in the rink's restaurant, said people inside heard a crack while a worker was resurfacing the ice on a Zamboni, a small vehicle used to clean and smooth the rink's surface. Minutes later, she said, the roof collapsed.
“The whole roof just fell in, and you could see the sky,” Little said.
She said a birthday party was taking place in the building, which also has banquet and meeting rooms and from the outside looks like a large airplane hangar.
The cause of the roof collapse hadn't been determined.
Pa. Rink Roof Collapses, Several Missing
Crews are searching the building with cadaver dogs
Copyright AP - Associated Press
