Paris airport: Six dead

2004-05-23 10:40

Paris - Six people, including three police officers, were killed and at least three others injured on Sunday when a roof collapsed onto a footway at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, the emergency services said.

The incident occurred at 07:00 when sections of a roof fell onto a boarding footway at the airport's new terminal 2E, which in turn collapsed onto airport service vehicles parked underneath.

Emergency services, who were immediately sent to the scene, set off their so-called "red plan", meaning that casualties could be treated at the airport as they would be in a hospital.

An AFP journalist at the scene said that the terminal, built only last June, had been evacuated. About 200 firefighters were also at the scene, backed up by members of the police and the army.

Several flights have been diverted to Paris's other main international airport, Orly, which is in the south of the city. An emergency number has been set up for people seeking information about their friends and relatives.

Transport minister Gilles de Robien was expected at the scene at 10:30 local time.

Terminal 2E was built by the French airport company Aeroports de Paris (ADP) at a cost of €750m ($900m) and came into operation June 25 2003.

This start date was a week later than anticipated as the French security commission did not give its agreement to the planned opening on June 17.

A leading trade union, the CGT, at the time spoke out against the pressure exerted by ADP and the state French airline Air France to open the terminal on schedule.

- AFP