CNN.com - S. Africa mall collapse: 50 freed

PRETORIA, South Africa (CNN) -- Fifty people trapped when a roof collapsed at a shopping mall just north of the South African capital have been freed.

But 21 people, including a baby, were injured in the accident on Thursday at Kolonnade Shopping Centre in Pretoria.

Many of those temporarily trapped in the rubble had been using an ice skating rink, police said.

An 8-month-old girl trapped in the rubble was rescued and was in stable condition with cuts and bruises, a mall spokesman told The Associated Press.

Scharfs said he helped rescue a two-year-old girl pinned beneath a steel post. She was in stable condition with a leg injury, he said.

"I'm a surgeon, so I went in to try to pull out other people," he said.

It was not immediately clear what caused the collapse of a newly constructed, 270-square-foot section above the rink. That area of the mall -- one of the largest in Pretoria -- opened in October, said Gerna van Rooyen, a spokeswoman for the shopping centre.

"We heard a hell of a boom. At first we thought it was an earthquake," said Aubrey Welken, 68, who was playing at a bingo parlour close to the rink.

Authorities were continuing to search the area where the roof collapsed though.

Reuters reported that the building was packed with Christmas shoppers when the roof over an ice rink inside the mall collapsed. Local radio reported that many children had been skating when the accident occurred.

The manager of the mall speculated that record rainfall in the area recently may have contributed to the collapse, which occurred at about 3:30 p.m. local time (1330 GMT).