Around 09 o’clock on Saturday morning, a grave at Møllendal cemetery fell into the Kronstad tunnel.
The tunnel work is about rebuilding an older railway tunnel to become a pedestrian and bicycle path. This resulted in a large hole in the cemetery.
– We have spent a lot of time deciding how to do this in the best possible way with safety in mind, says project director Roger Skoglie.
He emphasizes that they have been aware of the risk of tunnel work in this area.
It was Bergensavisen who mentioned the case first.
Unnecessary load
The Bergen church council is responsible for the cemetery at Møllendal.
Cemetery manager, Inghild Hareide Hansen, believes they should not have had this burden.
– We have notified the person who has attached the grave. The person in question was contacted when we became aware of the incident, Hansen says.
– UTRASING: An overview picture of the cemetery at Møllendal shows the extent of the damage from the accident. Photo: Tor Henning Flaatten / TV 2
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She adds that it was not a pleasant task to complete.
– When it is time for that, we will put the grave back in the condition it was before the accident happened, Hansen says.
According to the cemetery manager, there have previously been concerns about the tunnel work. This among Bergen church joint councils.
– We were worried in the sense that we thought it might be risky, she says and continues:
– Since the tunnel was there before, it is still difficult for us to make an assessment of whether the risk was greater now than it could potentially be in the long run.
Nevertheless, Hansen is keen to convey that the responsible parties are aware of their responsibility. They have been very clear on this, she says.
Risky work
It is uncertain what may have been the cause of the outburst. According to the project director, there may be several reasons.
Nevertheless, Skoglie believes it is most likely to believe that the loose material over the tunnel has been so heavy that it has penetrated the concrete mass.
– It is not so easy to have full control over how the cement we pump into the loose material is distributed outwards. It has probably simply been a weak point where the mass penetrated, he says.
– HOLE IN THE GROUND: The landslide resulted in a large hole in the ground at the cemetery. Photo: Tor Henning Flaatten / TV 2
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He further states that they have had geotechnicians on site in an attempt to find out what happened.
In addition, work is being done on several assessments of methodologies and procedures for further work.
– We must do a security job, and find out if there are any measures we can take to be even more secure in the future, he says.
There was no damage to personnel or machinery during the landslide.
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