A Swedish amusement park was engulfed in a terrifying inferno after a new waterpark attraction exploded this morning.
Shocking footage showed the installation at the Oceana Waterworld in Gothenburg ablaze as flames tore through the structure, sending a huge plume of thick, toxic black smoke trailing into the sky behind snow-covered houses.
The brutal fire prompted a mass evacuation of the area with firefighters at a loss as to how the blaze was triggered, reporting they could not bring the flames under control.
The alarm was raised at 10:06 amid reports of a fire, according to an emergency services spokesperson, but the flames spread out of control following an explosion moments later.
‘We know that there are fires in water slides, among other things, but we don’t know how it started,’ firefighter Björn van der Kaay told Swedish press, adding there was a serious risk of the fire spreading to nearby properties.
A public health notice was issued and residents living close by were told to immediately get inside and close all windows and doors in a bid to escape the toxic fumes.
Emergency services continue to battle the blaze which has reduced the waterpark to ‘nothing but a skeleton’, one witness told Expressen.
There are reports that several people were injured, though no official statement has been issued.
A fire raged through a water park attraction with several slides in the Nordic region’s largest fun fair with a huge plume of black smoke drifting over Goteborg, Sweden’s second largest city
An explosion at the waterpark slide is seen behind snow covered houses
Smoke and flames rise from a building after a fire broke out at the Oceana Waterworld at the Liseberg Amusement Park in Gothenburg, Sweden on February 12, 2024
Billows of smoke are picture at a structure of the Oceana Waterworld at the Liseberg Amusement Park in Gothenburg, Sweden on February 12, 2024
Smoke rises after a fire broke out at the Liseberg amusement park’s new water world Oceana in Goteborg, Sweden
‘It is important that the public stays away from the site, police spokesperson August Brandt told Swedish media, adding that Liseberg’s Grand Hotel Curiosa, which sits adjacent to the waterpark, was completely evacuated alongside several apartment and office blocks.
Roadblocks were also put in place as firefighters battle to contain the blaze.
One resident told Expressen: ‘First we saw smoke, then fire and then it exploded,’ adding that there was a thick smell of ‘burnt plastic’ in the air.
‘We have seen how the water slide has been formed over several months. Now it only looks like there is a skeleton left,’ she said.
Oceana Waterworld is a huge new edition to the Liseberg amusement park, which is the country’s largest funfair.
The installation, which cost some cost 1.2 billion kronor (£91 million) to build, was set to open later this year and was expected to be a big hit for Liseberg – one of the most popular tourist attractions in Gothenburg.
The mammoth attraction was spread over 6,000 square metres indoors and 4,000 square meters outdoors, and was designed to allow some 1,750 bathers to enjoy a state-of-the-art waterpark experience.
Had it been completed, the park would’ve constituted one of the largest waterpark attractions in Europe.
Liseberg CEO Andreas Andersen told local paper Göteborgs-Posten that the group has activated its ‘crisis management’ procedure and called a meeting of the board in the wake of the devastation to their investment.