May 23 (Bloomberg) -- Six people died and more were injured when the roof of a passenger terminal at Paris's main airport collapsed onto a footway, a spokesman for France's Interior Ministry said.

The ceiling of glass, concrete and steel collapsed onto a footway at the airport's 2E terminal, a building first opened in June 2003. At least seven were injured, said a spokesman at the airport's crisis management center.

``We've set up a temporary hospital and we're clearing the debris so sniffer dogs can work on locating any more victims,'' said Captain Laurent Vibert, a spokesman for the Paris fire brigade, in an interview with all-news television channel LCI.

Among the injured were three policemen, the interior ministry said. Injured passengers were among a group who had arrived from JFK airport, New York, or were leaving for Newark, New Jersey, said the spokesman at the Crisis management center.

Interior Minister Dominique de Villepin is traveling to the scene of the accident.

To contact the reporter on this story: Simon Packard in Paris packard@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: May 23, 2004 05:07 EDT