Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs posted on Facebook, reaching out to residents and urging them to not forget the people who were killed in the collapse of a Maxima supermarket and the rescuers who died trying to save people.
The Latvian president recounts what photographer Edijs Palēns’ wrote about what he witnessed ten years ago:
“I have taken photos of all kinds of horrors, last night included. I didn’t feel any pain when taking those photos, but standing next to relatives of victims and witnessing dead bodies being found under concrete slabs made me cry very often.
I was standing next o a 16-year-old boy whose mother left a few years prior. He was raised by his godmother, who was in the store. He was waiting for her from the beginning of the tragedy to this moment (in the morning, his classmates and friends brought him warm tea and dry clothes).”
I smoked together with a 70-year-old man who constantly tried reaching his wife’s phone. She’d left for the store from a nearby house to by bread. There was a signal, but no one picked up. I saw a man who came from work at five o’clock in the morning. He found found out about the incident and quickly understood that his wife, whom he’d married a week ago, is under the rubble.
I saw a 20-year-old woman whose both parents were under the rubble. I saw a police woman who was supposed to report the sad news to relatives of victims almost double over and vomit. I saw General Ķuzis with tears in his eyes. I saw crane operators looking for their colleague who was helping clear the rubble.
I saw workers of a gambling hall deny a girl’s request to get warm indoors.
She was waiting in for news about her husband in the cold the whole night (in the end it was bad news). I saw a young lad jump over the fence in two seconds and run past the police because he thought he saw his mother being escorted alive from the rubble (she wasn’t alive).
I received a text message from a girlfriend of mine’s who was up for a photo the next day. But now there was no need – there was no one to give those photos. I saw 1 000 people wait in a queue to donate blood. I saw cadets who couldn’t sit still in the bus they were brought in but still asked to assist.”
Today Latvia commemorates and honours the 54 people who died ten years ago in Zolitude. This is an unforgivably long and sad list:
Tamāra Aleksandrova, Leonija Apsīte, Sandra Arabela, Žanna Atarinova, Jurijs Aksjutins, Valentīna Beļakova, Iļja Bļinovs, Anna Bondarenko, Edvīns Bonus, Jūlija Burdukeviča, Andrejs Burvis, Ludmila Ciba, Ēriks Čerņenoks, Gaļina Fadejeva, Naira Grigorjan, Elga Gruzde, Tamāra Guseva, Larisa Gutāne, Juris Gutāns, Marina Hitruka, Nataļja Igumnova, Dāvids Indriksons,Tatjana Ivčenko, Jeļena Jesipenko, Mihails Jesipenko, Svetlana Kirillova, Ļubova Koževņikova, Svetlana Ļeha, Ņina Malaja, Vera Meļihova, Svetlana Mičuna, Valērijs Mizula, Pavlo Ničiporenko, Nikolajs Novikovs, Santa Pavelko, Jeļena Petrovska, Aldis Petruņins, Violeta Piņķe, Olga Poluhina, Daina Skadmane, Jānis Skadmanis, Ina Skrinda, Viktorija Smirnova, Vera Teusa, Mihails Teuss, Raisa Tihonova, Nadežda Tračuma, Valentīna Troicka, Viktorija Vovka, Žanete Zarečanska un Rita Zhilinauskas.
Let’s also remember the brave rescuers of the State Fire and Rescue Service who lost their lives trying to save people:
Cpt. Vilnis Šteinītis, Lt. Edgars Renfelds and Cpl. Sergejs Ižiks.
Today, in person or in our thoughts, we will light candles for the eternal memory of these people!