The employee was sitting on the toilet when the building collapsed – the toilet disappeared

Parts of the mountain have crashed into the paper factory of Norske Skog Saugbrugs in Halden. One person was locked in, but no one is expected to be injured.

– It is only a miracle that human life has not been lost. It was so dramatic that a person sat on the toilet, and the toilet disappeared under him, says manager of Halden Fire Service, Ole Christian Torgalsbøen to Halden Arbeiderblad.

It was just after 04.30 on Thursday night when the police received a report about the collapse of a building. Several cranes have fallen and parts of the building have collapsed.

– It became clear at the scene that there had been a major rockfall from the mountain behind here, says operations manager in the police, Anders Strømsæter to VG.

– Amazingly, no one was injured. We are very happy about that, he adds.

– Spider game

21 people were inside the building, and one person was locked inside for a while, but was evacuated using a ladder, the fire service explains.

Halden Arbeiderblad has spoken to an employee who experienced the drama:

– It was completely crazy. I do not get it. It’s just luck that it went well with the 21 of us who were at work, says the person in question to the newspaper.

He believes it was luck that the collapse happened at night, when few of them are at work after all.

After the collapse, the employees have been told to go home and rest. The shift will then gather for a debrief on Thursday afternoon.

– The most important thing is that no one is injured, says factory manager Per Ivar Berg to VG.

– Shocking experience

– It has been a traumatic and shocking experience for everyone involved and the local community,” says Sven Ombudstvedt, managing director of Norske Skog.

The company reports that they are now working to get a full overview of the situation and any risk of further landslides.

At the moment it is considered too dangerous to enter the area.

– The focus lately has been on securing the surrounding area, says fire chief Ole Kristian Torgalsbøen.

Punch in paper machine

The race at Norwegian Forest Saugbrugs Norwegian Forest SaugbrugsNorske Skog Saugbrugs is a Norwegian paper mill in Halden which today is part of Norske Skog. According to its website, the company has 395 employees. has led to extensive damage to building structures, cranes and other machinery and equipment related to the PM6 paper machine.

There will be a longer production stoppage for this machine.

Saugbrug’s PM6 machine has a capacity of 260,000 tonnes of magazine paper.

Operations at Saugbrugs PM4 continue, this has a capacity of 100,000 tonnes of magazine paper.

The financial consequence is currently uncertain, reports the company.

Secured the area

The employees were looked after by the municipality and the healthcare system.

Geologists are on their way to the area to carry out investigations.

Evacuate no more

The police cannot rule out new landslides, but they do not consider it dangerous for the buildings up on the mountain.

– That is our preliminary assessment, so this will be assessed more thoroughly in due course, but as of now we see no reason to evacuate there, says Strømsæter.

The police have also had a helicopter and drone hovering over the area.

– This is to give us a better overview of the damage and the area around here with a view to any new landslides, explains the task leader.