Parts of an industrial building at the Saugbrugs paper factory in Halden have collapsed. One person was at one point locked inside. He was helped out with the help of the fire service using a ladder. The employees have gathered and are being looked after by the healthcare system together with the municipality and employer.
Community contact in Norske Skog, Carsten Dybvig, says that this has been a great strain for the employees who were in the building.
– We have not set up a crisis team, but we are in contact with the emergency manager and the fire chief who are on the scene and have followed the development closely since this morning, says the municipal director in Halden, Roar Vevelstad.
Stone race
– Around half past five we received a message about a possible building collapse in an industrial building at Saugbrugs in Halden. When the emergency services arrived at the scene, you can see that the roof and walls of parts of a large industrial building have collapsed. It looks like there is a rock slide at the back of the building that has collapsed, operations manager Trond Lorentzen in the East police district told NRK.
Lorentzen says that they are waiting for geologists who will look at the site who will make assessments on the site together with the police’s task leader, with a view to whether new landslides may occur.
– It is mainly a large building that has been damaged here, and barriers have been set up there. Employees can attend work, I would think, in relation to the other buildings, but the employer will inform the employees in relation to that, says Lorentzen.
He says that it concerns building PM 6.
Norske Skog owns the paper mill. There were 21 people at work last night when the incident took place. All are accounted for.
Overview of the landslide that has occurred behind the factory building.
Photo: Camilla Næss / NRK
– We are trying to get an overview of the extent of the damage and whether there is a risk of further landslides, and whether there could be further damage to the building mass, says Carsten Dybvig.
He says that the landslide is in building PM 6, where you roll up the paper.
– This means that there will be a longer production shutdown. Only PM 6 is affected.
The police who are on the scene stress that they do not consider the building on top of the mountain to be in any danger.
Tags: Parts building Saugbrugs collapsed Halden NRK Oslo Viken Local news radio
