18.12.2023

Fatal hoisting incident

A fatal incident occurred on Thursday at the Northvolt lithium battery plant in Skellefteå, north east Sweden, in which one man died and the other is seriously injured.

We understand that the two men were working on either some sort of hoist or crane used in a construction area at the site, when it overturned onto them. The older man aged 60, died in hospital as a result of his injuries, the other, said to be in his early 20s, remains in hospital with serious injuries.

A spokesman for Northvolt said: “Yesterday, work was carried out with a lifting crane at our construction site which resulted in an accident that injured two people, one of whom has now died from the injuries. They were both employed by NCC, to work for Northvolt.
Amelie Winberg of NCC added: I can confirm that one of our employees has died in the accident which occurred as the men were installing weather protection. It is terrible and we deeply regret it. We are now conducting an investigation to see what caused this. We have activated our crisis support and are focusing on taking care of our employees in this situation and await the investigation.”
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The Northvolt facility at Skellefteå

The following day the Northvolt facility received the tragic news that another employee, 25, who was injured in an explosion on November 4th, had passed away.

The company said: “He was an ambitious, positive and highly valued colleague whom it hurts incredibly to lose. Measures have been put in place, while support has gone out to family and colleagues. We now gather in grief. The situation is devastating, and we are now working hour by hour to help each other through this.”

The Swedish work safety authority, along with the police and the prosecutor's office, are investigating both incidents. The spate of workplace fatalities has also been raised in the Swedish parliament, with the health and safety inspection authority to step up the number of unannounced inspections it conducts while the government has called on tougher penalties for companies that skimp on safety measures.