Early Tuesday morning, the Swedish newspaper reported Expressen about an explosion in the Annedal area in Gothenburg.
– There is an explosion and fire in a building, says Lotta Molander at the rescue service to the newspaper.
– It just spills smoke, a witness said early Tuesday morning.
– Extremely much smoke
24-year-old Theodor Öréus tells Aftonbladet that his front door was blown in by the pressure wave from the explosion and that there was smoke in the entire stairwell.
– When we came down to the courtyard, people were fainting on the ground, he says warn.
Several hours after the explosion, a lot of smoke still comes out of the residential building.
– I heard an explosion around five o’clock, and thought it was lightning. Then people started shouting, and we saw extremely much smoke, says a resident to Aftonbladet.
– I was terrified, says another witness TV4 News.
EXPLOSION: A large explosion woke the inhabitants of an apartment building in central Gothenburg on Tuesday morning. Photo: BJÖRN LARSSON ROSVALL / TT / NTB
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Hundreds evacuated
Another resident tells the news agency TT that several people are said to have escaped from apartments with the help of sheets. It is unclear exactly how many are evacuated, but it can be anything between 100 and 200 people.
– There are hundreds of evacuees. People have also jumped out of windows and descended into the courtyard, says Jon Pile, operations manager at the rescue service, according to SVT.
23 people have been sent to hospital. According to SVT, five were transported by ambulance, while the rest were taken to hospital by bus. Sahlgrenska University Hospital reports that they have admitted three elderly women who are seriously injured: one in his 60s, one in his 70s and one in his 80s.
SMOKE: Large amounts of smoke spill out of the apartment building. Photo BJÖRN LARSSON ROSVALL / TT / NTB
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Investigated
A larger area is cordoned off. SVT Nyheter’s reporter tells of a calm atmosphere at the place at half past seven on Monday.
– The fire is not under control, but the building has been evacuated, says the emergency services’ task leader.
The evacuees gather in a church in the neighborhood. Several police officers are on their way there to collect witness statements.
Directly on TV4 news, operations manager Jon Pile says no that there may be “natural causes” for the explosion, reports Expressen. He also denies that there may be a gas leak. When asked if it is instead an object that has exploded, he says yes:
– You look at the damage.
The police were notified of the incident at 04.48. An investigation has been initiated into so-called general destruction, and the extent of the damage is unclear.
Dagbladet is following the case.
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