Fire fighters stand in front of the collapsed roof of an ice skating rink in Bad Reichenhall, about 130 km (81 miles) south of Munich, January 2. (Reuters)

    BERLIN, Jan. 2 (Xinhuanet) -- At least five people were killed and more than 20 others were injured Monday as the roof of an ice skating rink in southern Germany collapsed under heavy snow.

    Police said at least five people, including a seven-year-old girl, were killed and 20 to 25 others are still missing in the tragedy in the southern German town of Bad Reichenhall in Bavaria state near the Austrian border.

    "We assume that some people are dead," a Red Cross spokesman told the German news agency DPA.

    The spokesman said the death toll was expected to rise because there were about 50 people inside the rink at the town of Bad Reichenhall in southern Bavaria state when the roof collapsed at about 4:00 pm (17:00 GMT) amid heavy snowfall.

Firemen work on the rescue of victims buried by the roof of an ice rink in Bad Reichenhall, southern Germany. (AFP)

    Rescue teams including firefighters were at the scene, trying to find a way into the remains of the roof to save the victims buried underneath. The heavy snowfall has impeded rescue efforts.

    "The situation is catastrophic," the Red Cross spokesman said, adding that the recovery operation was extremely difficult.

    Emergency workers evacuated the area around the rink, but rescue efforts were checked by continued snowfall after a blizzard beginning overnight and dumped some 30 centimeters of snow on the region. Traffic was virtually disrupted by the snow.

    "The rescue work is proving very difficult. It is very difficult to get into the building. The roof which has collapsed can only be lifted with heavy equipment," police spokesman Fritz Braun told German n-tv television. Enditem