The Zolitūde shopping centre roof collapse killed 54 people, making it the deadliest disaster in Latvia since 1950.
Key Facts
- Date of collapse
- 21 November 2013, 17:44 local time
- Deaths
- 54, including 3 rescue workers
- Injuries
- 41
- Location
- Maxima supermarket, Zolitūde neighbourhood, Riga
- Worst Latvian disaster since
- 1950 (steamer Mayakovsky sinking, 147 deaths)
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The roof of the Maxima supermarket in the Zolitūde neighbourhood was structurally unable to sustain its load. The precise engineering or construction failures that led to the sudden roof failure were subject to subsequent investigation, but the collapse occurred without immediate warning to those inside.
On 21 November 2013, the roof of a Maxima shopping centre in Zolitūde, Riga, collapsed at 17:44 local time. The structure gave way while the store was occupied, trapping numerous shoppers and staff beneath the debris and prompting a large-scale emergency response involving rescue workers.
The collapse killed 54 people, including three rescue workers who died during the rescue operation, and injured 41 others. It became the deadliest disaster in Latvia since the 1950 sinking of the steamer Mayakovsky and is widely referred to in Latvian media as the Zolitūdes traģēdija.
Human Cost
Each dot represents approximately 10,000 deaths. Total estimated: 54 (other)