City of Elliot Lake declares emergency (5:45 update)
Saturday, June 23, 2012 by: Donna Hopper
5:45 update
NEWS RELEASE
CITY OF ELLIOT LAKE
ELLIOT LAKE – At 3:55 p.m. Mayor Hamilton declared a state of local emergency in accordance with the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act, R.S.O. 1990, c E.9 s.4.(1) due to a roof collapse at the Algo Centre Mall.
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The Algo Centre Mall in Elliot Lake was evacuated today after a portion of the roof that accommodates parking, collapsed.
Witnesses report seeing two vehicles fall through the roof to food court area below, showering the area with water and debris.
Emergency personel are on scene searching for those who remain missing.
A gas leak has been reported as a result of the incident.
It is unclear at this time what caused the collapse and the number of injuries is unknown.
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Editor's note: Photos used to illustrate this story and in the gallery for it are from a loyal SooToday.com reader named Jordan. He says he took them a the scene of the roof collapse about 45 minutes after the incident.
The full text of an OPP news release on this developing story follows:
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Roof of Algo Centre Mall collapse
ELLIOT LAKE, ONTARIO – East Algoma OPP and Emergency Services is currently on scene at the Algo Centre Mall in Elliot Lake due to a report of part of the roof collapsing.
The call was received at approximately 2:19 p.m. on this date.
Police are unable to provide information at this time regarding any injuries or missing persons.
Police ask the public to refrain from attending the area. If you are missing someone, please call 1-888-310-1122.
The City of Elliot Lake and the police are in the process of organizing an information centre. As soon as the location is available the public will be advised.
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Zing 6/23/2012 7:48:18 PM ReportI sat in that food court several times!
Hope everybody made it out alive.
SandyB 6/23/2012 8:11:50 PM ReportCity of Elliot Lake is waiting for the Special Extraction Unit coming from Southern Ontario. Expected time of arrival is 9:30PM tonight. They will need to shore everything up before entering the collapse site to look for missing people...
firefly42 6/23/2012 8:31:55 PM ReportIt's terrible that they have to wait so long for the special extraction team. They shouldn't have to wait that long for help. It's clear we need an extraction team in the North!
Prayers go out to all involved.
Hohmann 6/23/2012 8:46:57 PM ReportSouthern Ontario? You'd think Sudbury would have a special extraction team, what with all the mining....
7 hours seems like an unreasonable amount of time to have to wait.
hitch 6/23/2012 8:57:15 PM ReportI use to live ther. The owners of the mall were warned about the need for upgrades and possibility of collapse years ago! I hope no one died!!! There has been leaks in that roof in all the stores below also for like 20 yrs! Anyone trapped I am also praying for! Its ridiculous the wait time!
hitch 6/23/2012 9:10:16 PM ReportAwe. I just heard there's 4 known fatalities so far! Dammit!!
hitch 6/23/2012 9:48:40 PM ReportForgive me if I am mistaken but I think it is same owners of this mall here ACR?
SandyB 6/23/2012 10:10:38 PM ReportNo.. the ACR has not owned this mall in years.
Auntiej 6/23/2012 10:18:16 PM ReportThe fatality reports have not been confirmed by any officials as of yet!
hitch 6/23/2012 10:55:49 PM ReportHere's a link to a youtube video as to some of the downstairs damage:
http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=WLsIqo5aKr8
Note: Comments that appear on the site are not the opinion of SooToday.com. Keep discussions civil and on topic. Refrain from obscenity and don't post anything that your grandmother would be ashamed to read. Those who do not abide by these guidelines will have their membership revoked without notice. If you see an abusive post, please click the link beside the post to report it.
