Authorities say it appears one person died and another is trapped after part of a roof collapsed at a mall in the Northern Ontario city of Elliot Lake.

They confirmed that news Sunday, a day after the roof-top parking lot gave way at the Algo Centre Mall, causing metal and concrete debris to come crashing through two floors of the shopping centre.

The Ontario Provincial Police's site commander said rescue officials using camera equipment to scour the wreckage discovered the person who is thought to have perished.

"We have obtained some visual information relating to a visual of a hand and a foot, which is our grounds for the suspected casualty in this case," said Insp. Percy Jollymore of the OPP. "We cannot confirm an identity, we cannot confirm anything about that. We just have a visual, and the location is such that we cannot approach it at this time."

Rescuers believe someone else is trapped in the debris, too, Elliot Lake Mayor Rick Hamilton said. That person seems to have tapped on the wreckage in response to shouts from rescuers.

"Examination of the scene continues to indicate that there's still a rescue," he said. However, because of the precarious condition of the site an eight-metre-long steel-and-concrete I-beam weighing more than a tonne is among the collapsed material it will likely be 10 to 12 hours before a rescue crew can get in, Hamilton said.

Jollymore said police still know of nine people who are unaccounted for. Names continue to be crossed off that list as members of the community account for their loved ones.

Initial reports said four people had non-life-threatening injuries and that no fatalities could be confirmed.

The collapse happened around 2:20 p.m. ET Saturday. There are reports two cars went through the roof. Twisted debris could be seen near a set of escalators, food-court tables and lottery kiosks.

Elaine Quinte, who owns the Hungry Jack's restaurant in the mall, was working at the time and remembers walking through the debris.

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1 believed dead, 1 trapped in Elliot Lake mall roof cave-in