A repairman was declared dead on Tuesday night after he was stuck inside a 30 meter high chimney in the art installation “Elia” in Herning.
This is stated by the Central and West Jutland Police in a press release shortly after 11 pm.
During the evening, the police tried to get the man out of the chimney. He was about two meters from the top. Along the way, however, they have not been able to get in touch with him:
– We do not know what happened. Possibly he is stuck in some cross braces in there, the police district’s chief of security Jens Claumarch said earlier Tuesday night.
The press release from the police states that it is unknown whether the man has had a malaise or whether there has been an accident which has led to the 46-year-old man’s death.
The police received the report on Tuesday shortly before 6 pm. In addition to the police, there have been rescue services and ambulance people on site.
The huge sculpture “Elia” was designed by the artist Ingvar Cronhammar and is built on a field in Birk a little east of Herning.
The sculpture is located near the Herning Art Museum and consists of a metal dome and four hollow columns – or the chimneys, if you will.
It is inside one of these chimneys that the man was stuck.
The repairman has entered the sculpture from above, where he has been hoisted into the steel cylinder via a crane.
– He had been inside once and then had to go down there again. At one point, he tells the crane driver to stop. After that, the crane driver has not been able to get in touch with him, says the chief of guards.
There have been several serious accidents at the artwork several times before. In the fall of 2016, two people died at short intervals.
In October 2016, a 21-year-old man lost his life when he and a group of comrades ran on the sculpture. The man jumped over a railing and fell many meters down.
Not long after, a woman lost her life. In that case, it was suicide.
The two deaths led to the installation of a safety net on the sculpture. In connection with the installation of the net, a fitter fell several meters and subsequently had to be taken to hospital by ambulance.
In the case in question at the art installation in Herning, the Danish Working Environment Authority has now been summoned and must investigate the incident further. The man’s relatives have been notified.