LAST: An employee at one of the stores has not been accounted for, according to the police. The person’s next of kin have been informed, and work is underway to search the building stock.
The incident leader at the scene, Håkon Flor, told TV 2 at 11am that the missing person was inside the shopping center when the crane overturned.
– There is a lot of destruction where the crane has fallen. That is where we are currently searching for the missing person.
On Friday morning at 09.20, the police in Trøndelag reported that a crane had overturned in the center of Melhus over the shopping center Melhustorget.
Project manager John Olaf Solstad of the contractor Hent, which is in the process of building the new Melhustorget, told TV 2 that it is a 50-metre high building crane, a so-called tower crane.
The incident leader says that they cannot yet say anything about whether the crane was secured well enough in view of the strong wind in the area.
The fire service will now, together with the contractor, make a plan for how they will find the last person, says task leader Flor.
– We work with a drone and a dog to locate.
Watch video from the scene:
When TV 2 spoke to the project manager, he was on his way to the site.
– It is absolutely terrible to receive that message, he said and added that it is the first time he has heard that a crane has fallen over.
The contractor also has another tall crane on site. This one has not tipped over. The police say that they are now working to secure the crane, but that at 11 o’clock they do not know how to do it.
Two people injured
Just before 10:00 a.m., the police reported on Twitter that one person has been sent to the emergency room with crushing injuries.
Operations manager Ole Petter Hollingen stated at the same time that there was no one in the crane when it overturned.
When TV 2 speaks to the police 15 minutes later, operations manager Ebbe Kimo says that one more person has been injured. The person must have fallen as a result of the accident. Both have injuries that are described as minor by the police.
Kimo states that a total of four shops have been damaged by the crane overturning, and that their roofs have partially collapsed.
See more photos from the location:
The fire service is on site and searching the shopping centre.
– We are still locating whether there are people who are injured or not, said duty manager André Lingjerde in the 110 central to TV 2 at 10am.
The supervisor also said that there is some material damage, and that parts of the building are difficult to get into for security reasons. The fire service is on the scene with five to six units.
Strong wind
The police report that there is a strong wind at the site. Solstad does the same.
– It is incredible with wind and gusts here now, said the project manager when TV 2 spoke to him.
At the same time, the contractor stated that they have appointed emergency staff.
– Right now it is chaotic.
Photo: Heidi Venæs / TV 2
– There is a strong wind at the site. It is natural that measures are taken for other cranes in the construction area. But I have not received any concrete feedback on measures being taken.
– Thought the whole city center collapsed
Randi Kosbøl works at Byåsen Bakeri in the shopping centre.
– Now we have evacuated everyone to the neighboring building. We will sit down and talk together now, she told TV 2 shortly after the accident happened.
According to Kosbøl, the second floor seemed to be the worst.
Tone Drazkowski at the central office said at 09.40 that they were in an evacuation phase and had a count of all employees.
– It is still unclear because there are parts of the center that we do not have access to. We have reasonable control, but not one hundred percent, she stated.
Photo: Heidi Venæs / TV 2
Drazkowski told of a dramatic experience when the crane overturned.
– I thought the whole city center collapsed. It was a crazy noise. Then there was complete silence, and the building began to shake. The whole center of Melhus heard it.
Do you have pictures or tips? Contact TV 2 at [email protected].
