Historical stock exchange
After the collapse in Copenhagen: Cautious rescue attempts
The masonry of the burned-out half of the historic stock exchange in Copenhagen has collapsed. photo
© Thomas Traasdahl/Ritzau Scanpix Photo/AP/dpa
After parts of the burned-out half of the old stock exchange collapsed in Copenhagen, emergency services are now trying to save what can still be saved. But it is difficult to use.
Emergency services are trying to get in with great caution Copenhagen salvaging remnants of parts of the facade of the historic Stock Exchange after the collapse. “Our main focus is that no one is injured and that the part of the stock exchange building that was saved is preserved,” said one of the fire department’s operations managers, Jakob Vedsted Andersen, at a press conference this morning.
However, this is difficult. There is a risk of further collapse of the walls that were trying to save, Andersen said. Carefully and very slowly you venture forward, little by little.
The scaffolding that surrounds the stock exchange, among other things for restoration work, is attached to the part of the building that did not burn out. During the night the emergency services began cutting down the scaffolding. According to media reports, further waste occurred in this context.
Complicated work on the scaffolding
“Something unforeseeable can happen during the work to dismantle the scaffolding,” said the operations manager. Therefore, we have to proceed very slowly. “The scaffolding is under tension and when we start cutting it open, we have to see how the scaffolding behaves,” He says it needs to be completely separated from the intact part of the stock exchange.
The building, which was built 400 years ago, is located on the eastern tip of the island of Slotsholmen on the Holmens Canal opposite the Danish National Bank and is a tourist attraction. A destructive fire broke out there on Tuesday.
The old stock exchange, which is now home to the Danish Chamber of Commerce, which also owns the building, houses, among other things, a large art collection. The building has not been used as a stock exchange in the true sense for a long time.
Half of the old stock exchange burned down completely, so that only the outer walls remained. These collapsed unexpectedly on Thursday afternoon. Several streets and the area around the historic stock exchange remained cordoned off.