Police in Székesfehérvár have opened an investigation against an unknown perpetrator after a four-storey industrial building undergoing demolition collapsed on Monday, leaving one man trapped beneath the rubble in a life-threatening condition.
A nation mobilises
Imre Szabó, press officer for the Fejér County Police Headquarters, told the Hungarian news agency MTI that proceedings had been launched on suspicion of endangerment in the course of professional activity.
According to on-site reports from the disaster management authority, the rescue operation lasted several hours and involved around 140 professional firefighters and volunteer rescue teams drawn from across the country.
The National Ambulance Service said treatment of the injured man began while he was still trapped. Colleagues from the HUNOR rescue unit, working in protective gear and crawling through the debris, reached the victim and administered pain relief and oxygen therapy. Following his extrication, the man’s circulation collapsed.
After brief resuscitation, he was intubated and placed on a ventilator before being transported to hospital in a critical condition. He sustained injuries to his lower limbs and pelvis, as well as internal trauma.
Trapped beneath the wreckage
The man was pulled alive from the ruins of the collapsed four-storey industrial building, though his condition remains unstable and critical, Péter Jackovics, head of the emergency response department at the National Directorate General for Disaster Management and commander of the HUNOR rescue organisation, said following Monday’s operation.
Mr Jackovics stressed that a life-saving effort had succeeded after several hours of coordinated work by professionals and volunteers alike.
Rescue organisations, cave specialists and volunteers from across Hungary mobilised to ensure the victim could be located and extracted as swiftly as possible, he added.
Check out a video of the rescue teams’ heroic efforts:
He described the operation as an exceptionally complex technical challenge, noting that the partially collapsed structure posed significant structural risks and that the victim was found in an unfavourable position. He expressed his gratitude to the roughly 140 personnel involved, who, he said, deployed the full extent of their technical expertise to ensure the man was rescued alive.
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Brick by brick
Mr Jackovics explained that volunteers initially used search cameras to locate the victim. Structural engineers from the Budapest University of Technology were then brought in to stabilise the building, enabling rescuers to reach the man, who had been struck by a falling beam and lay several metres beneath the debris.
Rescuers cleared the rubble by hand, brick by brick, removing the material between the entrance and the victim. Paramedics stabilised his condition on site before he was brought out of the collapsed structure.
András Cser-Palkovics, the city’s mayor, thanked the disaster management authority, ambulance service and all organisations involved for their perseverance and professionalism. He also expressed his gratitude to local businesses that provided or offered specialised construction equipment to assist in the rescue.
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