Blaze engulfs water park under construction in Sweden

A massive fire broke out on Monday at a water park under construction in the center of the Swedish city Gothenburg, landing 13 workers in hospital, reported Xinhua, quoting Swedish Television (SVT).

Footage from the scene showed a water slide exploding in a fireball and thick dark smoke billowing from the amusement park scheduled to open this summer.

The smoke overshadowed a large part of Gothenburg, Sweden's second-largest city. Nearby hotels and offices were evacuated, while those living in the neighborhood were instructed to stay indoors with their windows closed.

Initially, the construction company contracted to build the theme park told TV4 that the blaze started in connection with construction work but later backtracked, saying the cause would be investigated.

A spokesperson of the city's main hospital told SVT that the victims had minor injuries and the majority of them had been discharged.

Covering an area of approximately 14,000 square meters, the Oceana water park has a budget of 1.2 billion Swedish kronor (115 million U.S. dollars), TT news agency reported.

When the construction plan was announced in 2020, the project was expected to revitalize Gothenburg's tourism following the COVID-19 pandemic by generating 185,000 guest nights annually, TT reported.