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Tension at the scene of the accident: rescue measures continue

Photo: Bodo Marks / picture alliance / dpa

After the serious collapse of scaffolding on a construction site in Hamburg's HafenCity, the number of victims has risen to four. During the removal of the scaffolding poles, another dead man was discovered on Monday afternoon, said a fire department spokesman. No one is missing anymore. Initially, three dead and one construction worker with life-threatening injuries were determined. Initially, there had been erroneous talk of five deaths.

Debris up to the second floor

The scaffolding, which had been erected in an elevator shaft, had collapsed for unknown reasons and collapsed from the eighth floor. Now, according to the information, the debris is piled up from the basement to the second floor and has to be removed from top to bottom.

"We have three floors here where we have to push debris aside and secure it," the spokesman said. A total of around 150 firefighters are on duty.

In the meantime, specialists from the State Office of Criminal Investigation have begun initial investigations on site. "However, it is still too early to assess the cause of the accident," said a police spokesman.

The fire brigade had been alerted shortly after nine o'clock and was deployed with a large contingent. Hundreds of workers were evacuated from the major construction site. According to the construction manager, a total of 1300 to 1500 people worked on the construction site.

The Überseequartier is one of the largest construction sites in the Hanseatic city. On the 14-hectare site, shops, restaurants, entertainment facilities, offices, a cruise terminal, an underground bus station, hotels with around 1150 rooms and more than 1000 apartments are being built.

As recently as 2 September, four workers were injured, some of them life-threatening, in a similar accident at a construction site on Hamburg's Elbe bridges - not far from HafenCity. Scaffolding buckled and dragged the workers about five meters into the depths. Three construction workers, aged 27, 35 and 53, were seriously injured. A 21-year-old suffered life-threatening injuries.

On April 6, 2020, two construction workers were seriously injured by falling components on a construction site on Zweibrückenstraße in HafenCity. A package of 20 to 30 formwork boards, which had been moved by a crane, had been torn off the hook.

ala/dpa