German authorities correct number of dead in collapse of steel beams

As was specified, three workers, not five, died in the collapse of steel beams at a power plant construction site in western Germany. Rescuers struggled to recover the bodies a day after the accident.

Photo: German authorities correct number of dead in collapse of steel beams

About 450 tons of steel framework collapsed atop the future coal-fired power plant of utility RWE AG in Grevenbroich outside Duesseldorf on Thursday afternoon. Two victims were counted twice during rescue work, officials said.

"Our thoughts are with the relatives and the survivors, and we hope for a quick recovery for the injured," said RWE Power executive Johannes Lambertz at a press conference in Cologne, with officials from Alstom Power and Hitachi Power Europe, responsible for building the giant boiler where the accident occurred.

The dead were two Slovak citizens, ages 32 and 35, and a 25-year-old Czech. Six people were injured; a report from Thursday that one person was missing did not turn out to be true.

One of the dead remained suspended by a rope high above the site on Friday afternoon as rescue workers tried to find a way to reach him. An RWE statement said that "the security of the rescue workers has the top priority. First, all potential danger must be excluded."