Incident commander after collapse in Aarhus: There is a risk of further collapse

A large area around a building at the corner of Ryesgade and Sønder Allé in the center of Aarhus has been cordoned off because it partially collapsed in the morning.

There is still a risk that further collapse may occur, says Thomas Reinholdt Jørgensen, who is the incident commander at Østjyllands Fire Department.

- The building is standing and work is being done inside, and cracks are getting larger, so what we are concerned about is obviously that there will be further collapse - either inward or outward.

Concretely, the risk is that additional floors may collapse, or that the building may begin to topple outward towards the streets. Therefore, the fire department is fully engaged in securing the building from the outside.

However, he reassures people in the area, who, according to him, should not be worried - especially because a large area is cordoned off and will be for "some hours yet".

The fire department will be present "at least for some hours yet", according to the incident commander. (Photo: © Mikkel Berg Pedersen, Ritzau Scanpix)

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No injuries reported

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At 8:49 am, Østjyllands Police received a report that something inside the building had collapsed.

- The building is under renovation, and in that connection, there is a pillar that disappears, and so we have some collapses of some ceilings inside, says the incident commander.

Vice Police Inspector at Østjyllands Police Hans Henrik Bagger tells that 13 people have been rescued from the building. Immediately, there are no reports of injuries, but the police will still investigate.

- We have ordered some special dogs to search for whether there is anyone inside the building, but we have nothing that indicates that it should be the case, he says.

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No indication of criminal activity

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Some people in the building called out of the window in the morning that they needed help, and when the police happened to have a patrol nearby, they could quickly rescue them.

According to Vice Police Inspector Bagger, there were also workers inside the building in the morning in connection with the renovation of the building.

The fire department is securing the building from the outside, so that it hopefully will not fall out onto the street, if there is further collapse. (Photo: © Mikkel Berg Pedersen, Ritzau Scanpix)

As of the present moment, there is no indication that anything criminal has occurred in connection with the collapse, but the police are still investigating the incident.

- It will take some time before we can get inside to see what could have caused this, says Hans Henrik Bagger.

The police urge people in the area to respect the cordons and the directions that the police provide.

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