Four children killed as freak storm lifts roof from Barcelona sports hall

[muriel_volestrangler]

Source: Daily Telegraph

The winds that gusted at speeds of 100mph had already torn through southern France, unearthing trees and cutting electricity, before striking the Catalan capital on Saturday morning.

Television footage showed firemen and other emergency workers in red and yellow suits and helmets picking through the ruins of the hall, where the shifting roof had caused a wall to collapse.

A woman who watched in horror as the accident occured said the children had been preparing to play on a baseball field, but took shelter from the violent weather under a viewing stand with a corrugated roof.

The storm had already cut a swathe through southwestern France, where the state-run electricity provider reported power cuts to about a million homes. Rail services were cancelled.

Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/spain/4331367/Four-children-killed-as-freak-storm-lifts-roof-from-Barcelona-sports-hall.html

---

Tragic.

[Whoa_Nelly]

1. Pic

Rescuers work in part of a sports center which collapsed in high winds
killing four children and trapping and injuring others
in Sant Boi Llobregat, Spain, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2009. (AP / Manu Fernandez)

and another story link
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090124/spain_collapse_090124/20090124?hub=TopStories

[truthisfreedom]

2. I have friends visiting Barcelona right now! I hope they're okay. We were just joking that

it's totally balmy there, with beautiful weather, while it was 15 below overnight in Minneapolis where we all live...

[uppityperson]

3. UPDATE: 11 other people died in other incidents from this storm...(map here)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7848719.stm
Hurricane-force winds hitting northern Spain have brought down the roof of a sports hall near Barcelona, killing four children, local officials say.

Eleven people died in other, separate incidents in Spain and south-western France as the fiercest storm in a decade blew in from the Atlantic.

Torrential rains and winds of up to 172km/h (107mph) are being reported.

More than 1.5m homes in France suffered power cuts while road and rail links were blocked and airports closed.

The impact of the storm has been felt from the Channel Isles to Barcelona, but the strongest winds and heaviest rain were concentrated on the French south-west.