The Bad Reichenhall ice skating and swimming hall was a combined ice skating and swimming hall in the town of Bad Reichenhall, Bavaria, Germany, near the Austrian border. It was built between 1971 and 1973 by the city of Bad Reichenhall based on a design by the architect Hans Jürgen Schmidt-Schicketanz. At approximately 15:54 UTC on Monday 2 January 2006, the roof of the ice skating rink collapsed due to construction defects following heavy snowfall. Fifteen people perished in the accident, twelve of whom were children. Thirty-four were injured. The last body was recovered early on 5 January. Weather conditions in the area were extremely severe, an avalanche having killed three people nearby earlier in the day.
The rescue was temporarily halted on 3 January due to fears that the walls of the ice rink could collapse, endangering firefighters, police and rescue workers. However it resumed in the early hours of the next morning.
The accident provoked outrage in the town as it emerged that officials had halted the training session of an ice hockey team inside the rink due to fears that the wall could collapse. Prior to the disaster, officials had planned to close the ice rink on Monday 2 January as snowfall was continuing. However, as many meteorologists pointed out, the weather and snow conditions were not unusual for the time of the year as the town lies in a popular winter sport area of Southern Germany.
In 2007, the remains of the entire complex were finally demolished.
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