Arrests Over Roof Collapse

Prosecutors said yesterday they have filed charges against three managers of a company that owned an exhibition hall whose roof collapsed last month, killing 65 people.

The snow-covered roof of the hall in the southern city of Katowice collapsed Jan. 28 during a racing pigeon fair that had drawn visitors from across Europe. Another 140 people were hurt.

The three, who include New Zealander Bruce Robinson, president of the Katowice International Fair, could be jailed for eight years if convicted on charges of negligence and exposing people to loss of life, Tadla said. Also charged are two Poles, identified only as Ryszard Z. and Adam H.

Prosecutors, who have questioned some 200 people so far as part of their investigation, say the managers were aware of past problems at the hall.

In January 2002, heavy snowfall made the large surface of the roof bend under the weight, while a further deformation of steel elements in the hall was noticed in January of this year.