International construction experts asked to help investigate the collapse of a supermarket in Riga that has killed 54.

Latvian president Andris Berzins attends a memorial service for the victims

Latvian president Andris Berzins attends a memorial service for the victims

The president of Latvia has appealed for help from international construction experts following the collapse of a supermarket in the country鈥檚 capital Riga on Thursday last week.

Andris Berzins described the tragedy, which has so far claimed the lives of 54 people, as 鈥渙ur own made disaster鈥� and called for help from foreign companies to investigate why the building collapsed.

Berzins told state broadcaster LTV: 鈥淲hile not undermining the professionalism of our builders, I believe that we should call upon international expertise which is in no way connected with our construction business.

鈥淲e cannot call it a natural accident, because nature wasn鈥檛 involved. The evening was calm and silent with a little fog. This is our own made disaster.鈥�

He added that an investigation into incident should be held at 鈥渕aximum speed鈥�.

At the time of the collapse, a garden and children鈥檚 playground were under construction on the supermarket鈥檚 roof. Latvian officials have speculated that the structure may not have been strong enough to support the additional weight.

According to local media, the building was awarded an architectural award when it was completed in 2011.

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