Two people ended up in the garbage dump due to the pressure after the explosion on Returkraft. A third person suffered smoke damage when he rescued them from there. A total of seven people, some seriously injured, have been sent to hospital.
The CEO of Returkraft, Odd Terje Døvik, was on a motorcycle holiday when he was informed of the explosion on Thursday morning. Photo: Fædrelandsvennen
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KRISTIANSAND: – It was an external tanker that exploded. I do not yet know what kind of cargo it had, but it belongs to a company that, among other things, delivers oil sludge to us, says CEO of Returkraft, Odd Terje Døvik, to Fædrelandsvennen.
Ordinary delivery
Thursday morning he was in contact with his workplace before he got on the motorcycle to travel to Rauland on holiday.
When he arrived, the company he leads was on fire after a tanker exploded inside the company’s area.
– I have received an introduction to the course of events as far as possible. But those who were in the immediate vicinity of the explosion are being treated in hospital. What I can say is that this was an ordinary delivery. If it turns out to be oil sludge, it is something we receive and destroy for incineration, says Døvik.
—-A large hole in the wall shows the strong forces that have been in play in connection with the explosion on Returkraft. Photo: Tor Erik Schrøder
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Blown down in rubbish heaps
The first priority now is to follow up the injured, their loved ones and the other employees.
On Thursday afternoon at 3 pm, it was announced that seven people had been sent to hospital for treatment. Some of them have been sent to Haukeland Hospital, which has the country’s foremost experts on burns.
Just before 4 pm, Sørlandet Hospital stated that two people were critically injured and transported by air ambulance to Haukeland Hospital in Bergen for further treatment.
Five people have minor injuries and are admitted for observation and treatment at the hospital in Kristiansand.
– I do not know the condition of the injured, but it is about a slightly different type of injury. Two of the injured employees were blown down in the rubbish bin due to the pressure that arose. A third employee sustained smoke injuries when he rescued the two from the bunker, says Døvik.
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The director says that a comprehensive risk analysis has been carried out for the entire business. Return power receives and destroys waste from several southern municipalities.
– Now it is important to find out if the incident reveals a gap in our risk analyzes. If this is not the case, it could be a so-called millennial event. An event you can not guarantee yourself against without shutting down the business, says Dørvik, and adds:
– There is no one who is more interested in finding out than this than us.
At the same time as the police and the Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority are working to find the cause of the explosion, the management at Returkraft must think about how the day-to-day operations will be taken care of.
– It is early to say, but according to some of those who have looked at the extent of the damage, we are probably talking about weeks rather than days before the plant is in operation again.
– It is a period with many tourists and extra waste, so we have to find another deposit for the waste that should have come to us, says Døvik.
