Suddenly he fell over. A crane fell on a shopping center in the small Norwegian town of Melhus on Friday morning. A woman was killed in the process. The victim is most likely a saleswoman.
The dead man was found ‘in the building’, the police reported on Twitter around noon. The identity of the fatal accident has not yet been confirmed. Two other people were taken to hospital with minor injuries. There was no one in the crane itself.
The cause of the tragedy is still unclear, but police believe strong winds may be to blame.
Crisis management introduced
Norwegian media showed images of a yellow crane that was partly on top of the two-story building, but whose boom broke at least partly through the roof. The crane was not manned at the time of the accident and the shopping center was only moderately visited.
“I was shocked. I saw the crane suddenly tip over,” an eyewitness told the Norwegian newspaper “NRK”. She was with a friend in a nearby cafe when the accident happened.
The municipality of Melhus has deployed crisis management because of the incident. Those affected are supported with psychological help. (lrc)