Europe 1 with AFP 9:25 p.m., February 12, 2024
A man is missing after the major fire which ravaged Sweden's largest amusement park in Gothenburg (west) on Monday, largely destroying a new aquatic area, authorities said.
The police report “the disappearance of a person in connection with the fire” and “continue the search to find them”, they indicated in a press release in the evening. This person is “working on this project” for the aquatic area of Liseberg Park, the park management said in a press release.
Local media footage of the fire Monday morning showed exploding fireballs, flames and several explosions destroying a water slide, while a cloud of black smoke rose above the city.
16 minor injuries
Sixteen people were slightly injured and treated, but none were hospitalized, police said. A hotel and adjacent offices at this amusement park located in central Gothenburg, Sweden, were evacuated.
It is "a structural fire which will take time to extinguish" and the extinguishing work will last until Tuesday morning, according to the Gothenburg emergency response services which specify in an evening press release that '"a little smoke is still coming out".
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It is too early to comment on a possible criminal origin of the disaster and to give an assessment of the damage, police said. “A large fire broke out at the Liseberg Oceana water park (..) The fire started in one of the water attractions outside the building and then spread to the entire building,” had indicated Liseberg in the middle of the day.
The water park is part of an amusement park expansion project and was due to open later in 2024. According to Swedish news agency TT, the new water park cost 1.2 billion crowns ($107 million). 'euros).