Teenage girl falls eight metres through shopping centre grate in Bergen

A teenage girl celebrating her russ—Norway’s graduation festivities—fell roughly eight metres through a metal grate into a service shaft at Lagunen shopping centre in Bergen early Sunday, police confirmed.

The incident occurred just after 3 am near the Laguneparken parking garage, according to Vest police district operations manager Jan Børge Misje. Witnesses reported seeing the injured girl covered in blood, Dagbladet writes. She was taken to the trauma unit at Haukeland University Hospital, though the extent of her injuries remains unclear.

Police said the grate gave way beneath her, sending her into the shaft. The area has since been secured with barriers, and an investigation is underway.

Knut Eliassen, managing director of Lagunen shopping centre, told Dagbladet the facility—opened in 2012—has “never had such incidents before.” He added that additional safety measures have been implemented ahead of the Pentecost holiday weekend, with both police and centre staff reinforcing barriers around the shaft.

“We do not want such situations to occur,” Eliassen said. “We are now awaiting the police assessment of what happened.”