The main facade of the former Copenhagen Stock Exchange, ravaged by fire on Tuesday, collapsed on Thursday afternoon, as Danish emergency services feared . “Unfortunately, the facade along Frederiksholms Kanal collapsed,” the services wrote on X, specifying that no injuries were reported and that the area had been evacuated. The structure collapsed towards the interior of the building with a huge rumble, according to Danish media images. Containers had been placed along this facade to support it. “There is a risk of further collapses”, warned Tim Ole Simonsen, the head of the interventions by the Danish emergency services, during an improvised press point. It was the extreme heat and the collapse of other supporting parts which weakened the walls , he explained to journalists. Copenhagen: the charred facade of the old Stock Exchange has collapsed © AFP – Julia Han JANICKI, Hervé BOUILLY Work will resume inside the evacuated area but their schedule and organization must be reviewed, he added. “We really hoped to be able to save the facades of this old building but unfortunately we did not have time to put the anchors in place,” explained another head of the rescue services, Jakob Vedsted Andersen. – Crane operation uncertain – The emergency services had announced at the beginning of the afternoon that a crane operation was to begin on Friday at the mid-day to remove parts of the roof that had collapsed. The main facade of the old Copenhagen Stock Exchange which collapsed, two days after a fire which ravaged it, on April 18, 2024 in Denmark © Ritzau Scanpix – Thomas Traasdahl However, the firefighters were still at work on Thursday to put out the resurgent fires, more than 48 hours after the start of the fire. ” The work continued (…), we put out a few small fires, mainly in the cellar”, they emphasized in the middle of the day. Half of this building dating from the 17th century was burned and the 54 meter high spire collapsed in the flames on Tuesday morning, for an unknown reason. Police investigators have not yet been able to access the site. “It may take several months before we get answers” about the causes of this disaster, the Danish police insisted on Wednesday. An essential building in Copenhagen, the Old Stock Exchange, which would celebrate its 400th anniversary this year, also houses a vast collection of works of art, several hundred of which have been secured. Firefighters in front of the main facade of the old Copenhagen Stock Exchange which collapsed, two days after a fire which ravaged it, on April 18, 2024 in Denmark © Ritzau Scanpix – Thomas Traasdahl The arrow was particularly original because it was surrounded by four dragons whose tails curl into a spiral and are topped with three balls and three crowns symbolizing the three Nordic monarchies (Denmark, Norway, Sweden). Commissioned by King Christian IV, the Copenhagen Stock Exchange was built between 1619 and 1640, constituting one of the oldest buildings in the Danish capital. All rights of reproduction and representation reserved. © (2024) Agence France-Presse
By Teilor Stone
Teilor Stone has been a reporter on the news desk since 2013. Before that she wrote about young adolescence and family dynamics for Styles and was the legal affairs correspondent for the Metro desk. Before joining Thesaxon , Teilor Stone worked as a staff writer at the Village Voice and a freelancer for Newsday, The Wall Street Journal, GQ and Mirabella. To get in touch, contact me through my teilor@nizhtimes.com 1-800-268-7116