A massive fire engulfed a water park in Gothenburg in Sweden on Monday (February 12). Flames at the Oceana waterpark damaged outdoor water slides and under construction facility. There were no immediate reports of serious injuries and death but Reuters cited police to report that one man was missing.
When the fire broke out, there were no visitors at the waterpark. The park is a new addition to Gothenburg’s Liseberg funfair. The funfair was slated to open this year
Following the fire, the park released a statement and said that the missing man had been working on the project on behalf of Liseberg.
“The fire started at one of the water rides outside the building and then spread to the entire building,” Liseberg said in its statement.
As of 17000 GMT, the fire was still raging and firefighters were battling the flames. It was expected that rescuers and firefighters still had more work to do before the flames would be under control.
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The massive fire sent plumes of thick smoke in the sky over the city. The local residents have been told to stay indoors and close windows closed to protect themselves from fumes and smoke.
Videos of the incident doing rounds on social media show slides engulfed in flames with several fire-fighting vehicles in the vicinity.
Guests at a nearby hotel and office premises had been evacuated, Liseberg said.
“There is no smoke development now that affects the surroundings, but there are still flames and smouldering fires in parts of the building structure,” rescue services said in a statement Tuesday.
Niklas Sparw, head of building operations at construction company NCC, said Tuesday it was too early to speculate on the cause of the fire.
“With respect for the fact that it is an exceptional event, we need a proper investigation before we speculate on what happened,” Sparw told reporters.
(With inputs from agencies)
