Swedish police investigate explosion in Gothenburg, three in intensive care

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GOTHENBURG – Four people were seriously injured in an explosion and fire on Tuesday in the Swedish city of Gothenburg, and police are investigating whether an explosive device was planted at the site.

At least 16 were taken to hospital after the early morning blast set an apartment block on fire in a central residential area. Firefighters led people out of the building while other residents used tied sheets to get off balconies as gray smoke billowed from stairs and windows.

Gothenburg’s Sahlgrenska Hospital said hours later that three people were still in intensive care after inhaling smoke, but the injuries were not thought to be life threatening.

Sweden has faced an increase in gang crime and gun violence in recent years, with rival groups using explosives and firearms to settle scores. Police have added officers and laws have been tightened to try to fight gangs.

The shelling has become an almost weekly occurrence, but it is rare that someone is injured, although around 20 were slightly injured when a bomb exploded in a residential area in the southern city of Linköping in 2019.

Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said it was too early to say exactly what had happened in Gothenburg, but that all of Swedish society would respond if the criminals were behind the explosion.

“As a society, we will do everything we can to combat gang crime,” he told a news conference. “People should be able to feel safe.”

Smoke comes out of the window of an apartment building where an explosion occurred, in the Annedal district of central Gothenburg, Sweden, on Tuesday, September 28, 2021.
Smoke comes out of the window of an apartment building where an explosion occurred, in the Annedal district of central Gothenburg, Sweden, on Tuesday, September 28, 2021. Photo by Bjorn Larsson Rosvall / TT News Agency /REUTERS

Police, who opened an investigation, said the fire was under control and the tenants had been evacuated. Emergency services ruled out a gas leak as the cause.

“We believe that something has exploded that is not due to natural causes,” police spokesman Thomas Fuxborg told a news conference, adding that “probably” something had been placed at the site of the blast.

Anja Almen, who lives in the affected apartment building, said she heard a commotion on the street shortly after 5:00 a.m., about 15 minutes after the blast.

“I went out onto the balcony and was shocked. There was smoke everywhere, all the stairs, ”she said by phone from a nearby church where she and other tenants were evacuated. “Fire trucks with ladders were pulling people out of the apartments.”

Reference-torontosun.com

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