Firefighters killed in Swiss town

Rescue workers had to use heavy equipment to clear the area

Up to seven firefighters are dead after the ceiling of an underground car park collapsed during a fire in northern Switzerland on Saturday.

Five bodies were found on Saturday evening after several hours of searching through the smoking rubble.

Two other firefighters are still missing after the fire in the town of Gretzenbach, but a police spokesman said hope was "diminishing".

Rescuers had radio contact with the trapped firefighters for several hours.

"Hope is diminishing every minute," said police spokesman Frank Wilhelm. "The situation is very grave."

Three other firefighters managed to escape from the rubble and a fourth was rescued and treated in hospital for smoke inhalation.

Authorities believe the fire, which broke out early in the morning, may have started in a car parked in the underground garage of an apartment block.