”I indict the fitters for work environment crimes for through gross negligence causing the death of five people and posing a danger to two people who were on their way to enter the elevator but avoided the collapse”, says senior prosecutor Lars Ågren in a press release.
”The fitters had not assembled all four load-bearing screw connections between the current sections, which meant that the elevator mast collapsed and the elevator car fell about 30 meters to the ground”, he continues.
According to the indictment, the Work Environment Authority's regulations on inspection of lifting devices have not been followed and no self-control has been carried out.
Personal responsibility
The CEO of the company that assembled the elevator is also being prosecuted. According to Ågren, he has personal responsibility for the negligence.
”If he had organized the work within the company so that there were routines for how self-control should be carried out, the collapse would probably not have occurred”.
The prosecutor is seeking a corporate fine of seven million kronor.
The trade union Byggnads welcomes the prosecution, but believes that the main contractor on the construction site should also be held accountable.
This person, says union chairman Kim Söderström in a press release, ”had responsibility for the work environment and for ensuring that all technical devices are inspected and tested before they are used, and that these can be used in a way that does not cause harm”.
”The tip of the iceberg”
The workplace had, according to Byggnads, 119 subcontractors in five tiers during the construction period.
”Today, we see many workplaces where hundreds of companies are crowded together and work environment responsibility falls between the chairs. The accident site in Ursvik is just the tip of the iceberg”.
It was on December 11, 2023, that a construction elevator collapsed 30 meters at a construction site in Sundbyberg north of Stockholm. Five people who were in the elevator were killed in the accident.
TT is seeking a representative for the elevator fitter.
