– The wall fell towards us – VG

Thursday this week begins quite normally for Jon Vetrhus (56). For twelve years, the southerner has worked at Returkraft, a recycling plant just outside Kristiansand.

Suddenly it slams. Out of the window he sees a large part of the wall of the building flying through the air.

– Then I understand that it is very serious, the 56-year-old says to VG on Friday afternoon.

Vetrhus is the assistant operations manager at the recycling plant. As it slams, he knows that his 18-year-old son, who has a summer job at Returkraft, is in the building.

Together with maintenance manager and colleague Odd Olav Pettersen (55), he tells VG about how, in the minutes after the explosion, before fire and rescue crews arrive at the scene, they do everything they can to save friends and colleagues in safety.

Vetrhus runs up to the control room, which is located on the 6th floor where he will show up in crisis situations.

– But we no longer have a control room. It has blown out, says Vetrhus.

Two injured people are on their way out of the room, he says. They are evacuated with the help of employees and later transported to hospital.

Vetrhus receives a text message from his son, who is further away and is doing well. He then begins to look for others remaining.

There are 42 permanent employees to meet in crisis situations. On Thursday, 27 people are working there, a number that includes some external workers.

Return power is a large building. While Vetrhus is sitting on the 5th floor and looking down towards the emptying hall on the 4th floor when the explosion takes place, Pettersen is in his office on the 2nd floor, about 20 meters from the explosion, he says.

– There is only a huge bang and a tremor, then parts of the wall fall towards us, Pettersen says.

The smoke is in the ceiling.

– We escape the floor and run out to the meeting place and try to get control of people, he continues.

He says that he hears cries for help from outside the emptying hall and runs up there with another colleague. They find a burnt person, an external driver.

The driver is one of the two who were later flown to Haukeland University Hospital and who are still in critical condition. Neither of the two is employed by Returkraft.

After they have made sure that the driver gets help, Pettersen and his colleague hear cries for help from inside where it is burning in the emptying hall. They run towards the flames.

– You act on reflex. There was no time to think so much, says Pettersen, who has worked at the plant for almost seven months.

Two people inside the hall have been thrown into the sea of ​​flames, Pettersen says.

Together they get it all out.

The one rescued from the flames is now in critical condition on Haukeland. He knows Vetrhus well.

– It’s very heavy. He’s a good friend I’ve known for a long time. Odd Olav came out with him, I got to see him, it has left its mark, he says.

It took about 30 minutes to get an account of all the people inside the building, the two work colleagues say.

Seven of the 27 evacuees had to be hospitalized after the incident. Five people have been discharged, including the two Vetrhus who helped out from the control room.

VG and other media have previously reported that a tanker exploded inside the emptying hall. However, pictures of the cars inside show are intact.

Vetrhus and Pettersen say no car exploded, and that something else must have gone up in the air. But what it was is too early to say.

The police in Agder are investigating the case.

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