Five dead after lift plummets to ground at construction site
The cause of the incident is still unclear.
Five people who were inside a construction site lift that crashed 20 metres to the ground have died.
The incident happened in Stockholm, Sweden, on Monday, and work at the site has been stopped while the cause is investigated.
Gunnar Jonasson, the senior prosecutor in charge of the investigation, said: ‘This is a serious incident that we are now investigating.’
He said there is also an ongoing preliminary investigation on suspicion of ‘work environment violations causing the death of another’.
Victims are being identified and their next of kin informed.
The construction company Andersson Company Byggnads said those who died were subcontractors.
It added in a statement: ‘As the main contractor, we have a primary responsibility for safety at the workplace’.
All construction lifts in Stockholm were stopped following the incident.
A spokesperson for the lift’s manufacturer said the company has never been involved in this type of situation before.
They added these types of lifts have been used around the world for 20 years.
The incident has sparked outrage from unions including from the Swedish Construction Workers’ Union.
Johan Lidholm from the union called 2023 ‘the darkest year in a very long time’.
He said in a statement: ‘Fatalities and accidents both can and must be prevented.’
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