Why Did This Building Collapse? | Zolitude Shopping Center Collapse

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Tatiana: It's after 5 o'clock.

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People are off work, picking their
kids up from school, and making a quick

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trip to the store before heading home.

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Some are just running in for a 10
minute errand to grab milk, a side

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for dinner, or a bottle of juice.

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These are the stories that
children would share as they

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mourn the loss of both parents.

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And those who paused outside to take a
phone call would share how profoundly

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their lives were changed by the
collapse of a shopping center's roof.

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In this tragedy, 51 people did
not make it out alive, and another

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three lost their lives while trying
to rescue those trapped inside.

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This is the heartbreaking story
of the Zolitude Shopping Center

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roof collapse, and the bewildering
consequences for those held accountable.

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I'm Tatiana, and this is Occurrence.

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So let's go back to November
3rd, 2011 in Riga, Latvia.

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There is a neighborhood named Zolitude
that just welcomed the completion

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of this brand new shopping center.

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It was considered a masterpiece designed
by Zane and Andris Kalinka, a duo

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from the local architectural firm.

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Holmberg Valde took charge of
development, while the Re &Re

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company brought the building to life.

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The shopping center even won the Latvian
Building of the Year award, so it was

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considered a really nice building.

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Unfortunately, several months
before the grand opening, a

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fire broke out in the complex.

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Thankfully, no one was injured,
and engineers who inspected the

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building found no structural damage.

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Since the building was deemed safe, it
was cleaned up and opened to the public.

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Now, inside the shopping center
was a Maxima supermarket, a bank, a

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beauty salon, a currency exchange,
a new shop, and a pet shop.

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It was part of a complex that also
included residential apartments and

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had plans for a green roof, providing a
recreational area with cobblestone paths

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and benches for apartment residents.

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So construction continued
in the green roof,

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While a new underground parking garage
was being added in the basement.

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During the construction, the shopping
center operated business as usual,

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but there was a little quirk.

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The fire alarm for the building
would occasionally go off

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without any fire present.

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Everyone thought it was due to
faulty wiring or construction dust,

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and it became an accepted part
of the establishment's routine.

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Little did they know that this
quirk would be an eerie prelude

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to the tragic events to come.

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On November 21st, 2013, just before 4.

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30pm, the fire alarm once again
blared in the shopping center.

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The announcement was made to evacuate
the store, but security quickly decided

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that it was a false alarm triggered by
welding construction in the basement.

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They believed there was no
immediate danger, and the

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evacuation was deemed unnecessary.

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They called a technician to turn it
off, but he would not be able to figure

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out why the alarm went off before
things took a turn for the worst.

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People are shaken but reassured,
so they returned to their shopping.

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The calm atmosphere resumed and the
Maxima supermarket, along with some of the

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smaller shops, continued their operations.

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Customers who had considered leaving
were encouraged to stay by the

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calm attitude of Maximus employees.

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As they entered peak shopping hours,
the flow of people in and out of the

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center gradually returned to normal.

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But just after 5.

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30pm, something unexpected happened.

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Without any warning, the roof of
the shopping center collapsed.

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The roof fell over the checkout counters
where lines of people were waiting to pay.

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It crashed over the dairy, alcoholic
beverage, and household cleaning sections.

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The Maxima supermarket immediately
lost power, so the main entrance

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locked and trapped shoppers inside.

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They had to break the
glass windows to escape.

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Unlike the supermarket, the smaller shops
in the retail center had better outcomes.

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Their roofing was damaged, but it
was able to keep from collapsing.

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The smaller shops had more than
50 employees and an unknown

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number of customers inside.

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Most of the people in those areas were
able to escape before rescuers arrived.

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Within minutes, firefighters,
paramedics, and police officers

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arrived at this unbelievable scene.

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The roof collapsed over the
supermarket, leaving a giant hole

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in the center of the building.

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If you can imagine someone slamming their
fist in the middle of a square cake,

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That's what this building looked like.

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You see, the Maxima supermarket was
the largest building in the complex.

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It took up most of the real estate.

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The surrounding sides to the store
were standing, but it's like someone

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just smacked down the center.

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Because pretty much only the
ceiling over Maxima caved in.

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The perimeter store's roofing
staying relatively intact is why

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the people there were better off
than the people in the supermarket.

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So, determined to save lives, the
firefighters divided the building

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into four working areas since what
was left of the structure appeared

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stable and was standing strong.

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They went in and rescued as many
people as possible, navigating

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through the rubble to find survivors.

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Since only firefighters were allowed
in the building after the first

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collapse, Ambulances stood by outside
of the building, waiting to transport

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the wounded and rescued to hospitals.

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The initial rescue gave a glimmer of hope,
as almost 20 people were successfully

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brought to safety from the first collapse.

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But the danger was far from over.

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The remaining portions of the
roof seemed stable, but just

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after 7pm, with again, no warning,
another part of the roof caved in.

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This time over one of the work areas.

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Since several firefighters were trapped
beneath the debris, desperation took

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over as their fellow first responders
were desperate to rescue them.

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But in the end, the second collapse
claimed the lives of 3 firefighters

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and left 12 others injured.

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Following the second collapse, only 5
firefighters were allowed to enter the

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building at a time and were limited
to only working 30 minute intervals.

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The rest were forced to wait outside
because of the risk of another cave in.

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A few hours later, bulldozers
and cranes arrived to assist

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in clearing the wreckage.

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The bulldozers moved tons of rubble
while the cranes lifted concrete slabs.

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And recognizing the efforts of the
first responders, over 100 Latvian Army

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soldiers arrived to offer their support.

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They established a base camp with tents to
provide refuge for the first responders.

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The magnitude of the disaster
caused other countries to offer

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assistance, but Latvia declined.

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They were confident in their own resources
and expertise, and tried a variety

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of methods to search for survivors.

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They listened for signs of life using
silent periods, but all they heard

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were cell phones ringing unanswered.

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Thermal scanners were used, but not
effective against the concrete rebel,

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and search and rescue dogs struggled
to navigate the overwhelming scent of

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spilled alcohol chemicals and alcohol.

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Then, during the early hours of
November 23rd, a fireman sustained

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injuries while clearing the debris.

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And just before 6pm that same
day, a third collapse happened.

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Luckily, no rescuers were hurt, but the
integrity of the roof was beyond repair.

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So rescue efforts ended an hour later.

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The severity of the injuries the remains
of the latest victims had left them

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with no hope for any more survivors.

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And in the end, there were no
more victims found in the rubble.

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The roof collapse claimed 54
lives and left 41 people injured.

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Among the victims, 53 were
citizens of Latvia, while

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one was a citizen of Armenia.

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The Latvian president declared
three days of mourning, extending

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heartfelt condolences to Armenia, and
honoring the memory of the victims.

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And during this period, the nation
united in grief, refraining from

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public events and replacing TV ads
with a video tribute to the victims.

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Almost immediately, the mayor of Riga
ordered an inspection of all building

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projects conducted by Reanry, the
company behind the shopping center.

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And while the tragedy spared the
apartment buildings within the

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complex, the developers placed
their construction on hold.

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While they were investigating the
cause of the collapse, a separate

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criminal investigation began,

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Which ended up verifying the findings
of the state labor inspector.

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The inspector found work safety violations
within Maxima, exposing potential

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factors that contributed to the disaster.

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But I'll revisit that later.

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So the police had three theories.

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The first was that there was an
error in the structural design of

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the building and those overseeing
the planning had been negligent.

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the second was that the cause was
related to initial building procedures.

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And the third theory was that
the collapse was caused by the

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construction of the green roof.

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They performed investigative experiments
that basically revealed the roof

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was originally built improperly.

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The collapse was not caused by a sudden
change, but by metal fatigue from

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overloading the structure over time.

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When they tested the supports,
they started deforming way before

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the target weight was reached
and always ended up breaking.

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They also tested to see if the
original fire prior to opening had

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some kind of involvement, but they
did not release that information.

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At one point, a man was fined for
signature forgery on documents

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related to construction projects.

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The person fined was the
owner of a liquidated company.

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The company was a subcontractor
hired by Vicom Industry, the

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manufacturer of the constructions.

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They alleged that the company forged
the documents using the name of a

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certified engineer that they previously
offered a job, instead of actually

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hiring one, and that the engineer
they used, they never actually paid

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for his previous work with them.

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So the prosecutor general comes out
and says there would be more suspects.

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The way the building was designed
meant it was going to collapse,

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but there were other factors that
contributed and resulted in death.

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There were unrelated violations
that showed a general tendency

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to disregard regulations.

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Essentially, everyone who had been
neglectful contributed to the accident,

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and he wanted them held responsible.

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And in January of 2015,
the first suspects emerged.

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Including construction engineer
Ivar Sergets, design expert Andris

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Gulbis, and architect Andris Kalinka.

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The authorities froze the assets of
H& D, a company owned by Surgetts,

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and Cubs, owned by the Kalinkas.

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While the suspicions against
Kalinka weren't revealed, they

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targeted Surgetts for errors in
the building's roof construction

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design, and Gulbis for potential
negligence in inspecting the design.

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So, the investigation continued.

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And, of course, desperate to clear
their names, the accused conducted their

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own investigations, trying to shift
blame or expose conflicting details.

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Reports by Ri and Ri said
a critical design error was

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the cause of the collapse.

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They had independent engineers review
the project documentation, and it

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confirmed that poor load carrying
capacity of the building, which was

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only a third of the required strength,
miscalculations of the max weight the

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roof could hold, along with design flaws
in the structural connections, were the

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main reasons leading to the collapse.

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But conflicting narratives came
out during the investigations.

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Ivar

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Surgetz, who, remember, was the owner
of HND and responsible for building the

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complex, said that material overload
placed on the roof caused the collapse.

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He completely dismissed the idea
that the green roof was the cause,

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because the store had withstood two
winters where snow induced stress

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exceeded the weight from the garden.

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Instead, he admitted to using trusses
made of two pieces bolted together,

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instead of following the original single
truss support system in the design.

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Apparently, transporting longer
trusses had too many challenges.

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So, the blame game is still ongoing, and
representatives of Cubs now place blame

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on Vickam Industry, who supplied the
metal joints used to connect the trusses.

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They said, Vickum held sole responsibility
for the components and calculations.

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But Vickum defended itself, saying
that all metal components were

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followed strictly to the design.

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So, the focus shifted to Eurobolts,
who was the supplier of those bolts,

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since Vickum was basically saying
that they weren't strong enough.

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Eurobolts said, the company had no
information on what the bolts they sell

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are used for, but the bolts Vickum was
interested in were not strong enough

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for joining trusses for the roof and
they never bought bolts that would

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be strong enough for that purpose.

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As accusations flew, a structural
engineer from a Finnish company

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jumped in, publishing research
based on site photographs.

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The engineer pointed blame at
practically everyone but Vickom, and

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eventually questions surrounding the
engineer's competence, credibility,

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and potential connections to
Vickom industry raised doubts about

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the credibility of the findings.

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Now, public outrage was at an all
time high as reports of unethical

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work conditions and product quality
issues within Maxima came out.

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Workers described an extremely unstable
work environment within the building.

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According to Maxima staff, the building
had been extremely unstable for a year.

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The construction workers told
them that the foundation was

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cracked and needed reinforcement.

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They had to deal with the storage room and
workers locker room completely flooding.

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Extra support columns were placed
under the ceiling of the storage

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room, but were later removed.

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The fire alarm sounded frequently and
they believed it was because the alarm was

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faulty and couldn't tell smoke from dust.

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Workers also said they received
insufficient safety instructions, that

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fire escape doors were blocked, and they
couldn't leave work without permission,

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not even to use the restroom, because
if they did, Their pay was docked.

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Apparently, the store would only open a
few checkout lanes to save money, which

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created long lines and made employees
work long hours for minimum wage.

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Maxima also intimidated workers to keep
them from reporting things to authorities,

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talking to media, or joining a union.

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The company was accused of lying
for initially denying owning the

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building and saying that their safety
instructions, which only required

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evacuation when there was obvious danger.

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had been approved by the
State Fire and Rescue Service.

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So in response to all of this, the
Latvian parliament established a solitude

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investigative committee in November, 2014.

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They would look into the actions of
the Latvian state and evaluating the

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causes of the tragedy and government
efforts to prevent similar incidents.

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The committee investigated for
12 months and in October of 2015.

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They officially named several
people as morally and politically

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responsible for the tragedy.

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This included former prime minister Valdis
Dombrovskis who had resigned earlier.

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And some people felt he was made
to be a political scapegoat.

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The mayor of Riga.

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And the head of the
Riga construction board.

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They were tried and in February
20, 20 verdicts were announced.

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Eight of the nine
defendants were acquitted.

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The building civil engineer, Ivars
Sergetts was sentenced to six

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years in prison for errors made
in the structural calculations,

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which directly led to the collapse.

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I've heard that a lot of Latvians
compared the feelings of this disaster

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To how Americans feel about nine 11.

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in the sense that if you ask them what
they were doing, when they first heard

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of the collapse, they would remember.

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Considering that I'm not sure how
the justice system works there,

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but one person doing six years
in prison, doesn't add up to me.

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And I'm not alone.

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The feeling of justice was elusive.

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Many in the community, especially
those directly affected felt the

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lack of holding people responsible.

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They believed that a single individual
being held accountable barely

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scratched the surface with the true
culprits getting off scot-free.

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Maxima ended up paying reparations to the
victims and their families and a permanent

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Memorial is planned to be added onto the
temporary one at the site of the tragedy.

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To honor the lives lost and
those effected by the collapse.

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The Zolitude shopping center collapse
is a reminder of the consequences of

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negligence and disregard for safety.

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But in my opinion, I feel like
they barely scratch the surface of

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investigating all that corruption.

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And I guess their president actually
wanted more to happen because he

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said that the collapse was a quote
murder of defenseless people.

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And quote.

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And he wanted the perpetrators arrested.

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He wanted an investigation from
independent experts from other

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countries, not associated with
Latvian builders in any way.

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And felt the entire political system
needed to change because it allowed

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individuals to escape responsibility.

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He was obviously upset.

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So I'm not sure what happened with
the independent investigators.

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But shortly after that statement is
when the prime minister resigned,

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which is why people felt like he
was a scapegoat or forced out.

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So, what do you think.

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You know, I have to hear your thoughts
on all of this because I am speechless,

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but after corruption, Forgery.

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Everything.

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Only one person got six years.

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Leave a comment for me to read
and don't forget to like, and

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follow for more stories like this.

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All sources can be found at the
website linked in the show notes.

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Be safe.

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And I'll see you next time.