BERLIN (AP) – At least three construction workers died when scaffolding fell down an elevator shaft inside a building site in Hamburg on Monday, German authorities said. Several others were believed to be missing under the wreckage.
The fire service in Germany´s second-biggest city said that the building site was evacuated following the accident, German news agency dpa reported. Between 1,300 and 1,500 workers were on site at the time.
30 October 2023, Hamburg: A fire department ambulance drives onto a construction site. Several workers fell from a scaffold at a construction site in Hamburg’s HafenCity on Monday. Five died, a fire department spokesman said. Photo: Bodo Marks/dpa (Photo by Bodo Marks/picture alliance via Getty Images)
30 October 2023, Hamburg: Emergency vehicles of the fire department and numerous construction workers stand in front of a construction site. Several workers fell from a scaffold at a construction site in Hamburg’s HafenCity on Monday. Five died, a fire department spokesman said. Photo: Bodo Marks/dpa (Photo by Bodo Marks/picture alliance via Getty Images)
The scaffolding appeared to have been eight floors above the ground before the collapse, and firefighters said the rescue effort was difficult.
Officials initially reported that five people died. They said later Monday that they were sure of three deaths.
The accident happened in the Ueberseequartier, part of the port city’s HafenCity district on the Elbe river that is being redeveloped with office and residential buildings, hotels and shops.