Rescue teams are on duty at the scene of an accident where around 27 people, most of them children, were injured when they fell from a pedestrian bridge on May 11, 2023 in Espoo, Finland. JUSSI NUKARI / AFP
At least 27 people, mostly children, were injured on Thursday May 11 in Finland when a temporary footbridge collapsed near Helsinki, causing them to fall several meters, the aid organization said.
“27 young people, most of them minors, were injured to varying degrees,” Finnish rescue services said in a press release when this pedestrian bridge collapsed in Espoo, on the outskirts of the capital.
The incident happened around 9:20 a.m. (8:20 a.m. in Paris). According to the Finnish media, the wooden planks of the pedestrian bridge broke under the weight of the young people, causing them to fall about 4 to 5 meters.
The injured are mostly a school group, said the services of the University Hospital Helsinki (HUS). “There are a total of 27 injured, 24 of whom were taken to the hospital,” but their lives are not in danger, it said Twitter.
According to Finnish media, it is essentially a class, i.e. around 14-year-old students, who were on their way to a nearby museum.
“Our support goes to those injured in an accident and their families. You are on our minds,” he continued Twitter Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin.