Three killed in Argentina supermarket roof collapse

BUENOS AIRES (AFP) - At least three people died and 18 were injured when a supermarket roof collapsed in western Argentina. An undetermined number of people were still missing in the accident authorities said on Friday.

The accident occurred shortly before closing late on Thursday when an adjacent building under construction collapsed in the city of Neuquen about 1,150 kilometres southwest of Buenos Aires, damaging the structure supporting the market's roof while dozens of customers were shopping inside.

Provincial civil defence chief Vanina Merlo told reporters that emergency workers were moving carefully given the risk of a further structural collapse, warning that there could be more victims. Three truckloads of debris had already been removed.

"The ceiling fell two metres from where I was standing and then I was stuck with two or three people in a hole, and a policeman helped us out a side door. I was saved by a miracle," a customer who gave her name as Paula, told TN television.