Five killed in construction site incident in Germany

Five workers were killed in an incident at a major construction site in the city of Hamburg, in northern Germany, and several others were missing after scaffolding collapsed on Monday.

The incident was reported by a fire service spokesperson, who said that “several people were buried under the scaffolding and are considered missing.” 

The spokesperson added that “five workers died at the scene of the accident.”

It was not immediately known why the scaffolding, which was located in the huge redevelopment project of a former part of Hamburg’s port called HafenCity, suddenly collapsed around 9:10am local time.

German newspapers, including the Bild, wrote that the scaffolding crumbled at Westfield Hamburg-Überseequartier, a new commercial, residential and leisure complex which will also to include a new cruise ship terminal.

According to reports, the five workers who were confirmed dead were building an elevator shaft when the scaffolding toppled. The entire construction crew at the site, about 700 people, were made to evacuate.

Some 60 rescue workers were deployed to look for the workers buried under the ruins of the scaffolding.

According to the German Federal Statistical Office, in 2021 one in 100,000 people in employ­ment was a victim of a fatal ac­ci­dent at work. Some 92.4% of the victims were men, as incidents occurred more often in male-dominated industries like forestry and lodging, waste collection, and civil engineering.