The causes of the accident are still unknown, but the toll is heavy. Five workers died after scaffolding collapsed on a major construction site in Hamburg, a port city in northern Germany, and several people are missing, a fire service spokesperson said on Monday. “Several people are buried under the scaffolding and are considered missing,” he said.
Around 70 members of the rescue teams are on the scene. The accident occurred in the Hafencity, a huge redevelopment project of a former part of the port of Hamburg.
The site evacuated
According to the popular daily Bildthe scaffolding collapsed at Westfield Hamburg-Überseequartier, a new commercial, residential and leisure complex which is also to include a new terminal for cruise ships.
The killed workers were building an elevator shaft when the scaffolding toppled around 8:10 a.m., crushing on at least eight workers. The entire site where some 700 workers were working was evacuated, according to Bild.