Smoke and flames rise from a building after a fire broke out at the Oceana Waterworld at the Liseberg Amusement Park in Gothenburg, Sweden on February 12, 2024. (Photo by Bjorn LARSSON ROSVALL / TT News Agency / AFP)
Stockholm: Swedish rescue services said Tuesday that a major amusement park fire was under control a day later but efforts to douse it were hampered by the risk of a building collapse.
One person was still missing after the blaze erupted Monday at the Oceana water park still under construction at Sweden's largest amusement park Liseberg in the western town of Gothenburg.
"We have searched the spaces we can access, which we consider safe ... (and) we have not been able to find anyone," Per Nyqvist of the Gothenburg rescue services told a press conference.
Rescue services said that work to extinguish the fire was still ongoing, and while it was under control the risk of collapse meant firefighters needed to create safe areas to move around the building.
Liseberg said the fire likely began in one of the water attractions outside the main building and then spread "throughout the building."
Images from Monday showed exploding fireballs, as flames and several blasts tore up a water slide and a pall of black smoke rose over the city.
"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.
Police said an investigation into gross negligence and workplace offences had been opened.
According to police 16 people sought treatment at hospital, but they were only reported to have minor injuries.
Another six people received care at the site but did not need to seek hospital treatment.
