1 missing, 16 injured in Swedish amusement park fire

IZMIR, Türkiye

A massive fire and multiple explosions rocked a Swedish amusement park in the city of Gothenburg on Monday, leaving one person missing and 16 others injured.

Heavy black smoke has engulfed central parts of the city, prompting an emergency warning to the public.

"A man is missing after the big fire in Liseberg. He is tied to that workplace. Now he is gone," police spokesperson Stefan Gustavsson told Aftonbladet Newspaper.

The search for the man is ongoing and next of kin have been notified.

"We have been looking for him during the day. We cannot say with certainty that he was not at the scene," said Gustavsson.

"We know that Liseberg had that suspicion and have searched the parts we can. But we cannot search large parts of the building because of the heavy fire and the risk of landslides," said Henrik Gunnarsson, the spokesperson at the rescue service.

The newly constructed water park, Oceana, located within the Liseberg amusement park, has been completely destroyed by the fire and subsequent explosions.

The injured individuals have been admitted to the hospital for treatment, with all reported to be in stable condition, according to Lisa Rang, a press spokesperson at Sahlgrenska University Hospital, who spoke to GP newspaper.

In a statement, the park authority said the fire started at one of the water slides outside the construction and then spread to the entire building.

"Right now, we are focused on helping the rescue work on site and getting a better picture of what happened and how extensive the accident is. We have evacuated guests at our Hotel, and nearby office premises," it said.

Fifteen preschools in the vicinity of Liseberg have relocated their children due to the fire at Oceana, as has the World of Volvo museum.

"There is a heavy fire in a building. Initially there was information that there were people still in the building. There is intense smoke development and a VMA - Important notice to the public is issued".

"The black smoke is spreading and we urge everyone in the area to go indoors and close doors, windows, and ventilation. We are on-site with an extensive resource package and are now working to limit the fire to nearby buildings," said Claes Lippert in an interview with Swedish radio.

Oceana, boasting 14 water attractions spread over nearly 1.5 hectares and with a capacity for 1750 guests, was set to become one of Northern Europe's largest water parks.

Liseberg amusement park, which draws over 3 million visitors annually, has been one of Sweden's most popular tourist destinations since its opening to the public in 1923.