"They were buried alive under liquid concrete", shocking details from the death of three Albanians in Vienna

2026-03-18 09:21:59Aktualitet SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
"They were buried alive under liquid concrete", shocking details from
Scene from the accident in Vienna, Austria

New details have emerged from the tragedy in Vienna's Alsergrund district that claimed the lives of three Kosovo Albanians and a Bosnian. During construction work at a construction site in Porzellangasse, scaffolding collapsed and they were trapped under the rubble under the still-unhardened concrete, reports Heute.

Help arrived too late and all four died. Another worker, said to be from North Macedonia, was seriously injured and handed over to the emergency services. He continues to be treated in a hospital in Vienna.

A local resident told the Kronen Zeitung the dramatic moments immediately after the collapse: "There was an extremely loud noise, then I only heard the screams of the workers. Then the sirens went off."

Uncured concrete was removed by hand.

Firefighters said the rescue efforts were extremely difficult. The narrow courtyard made it difficult to access the trapped. The alert level was quickly raised to 2 and additional forces were called in.

To reach the workers, several entrances were first created. Fences and doors were removed, while crews began removing collapsed sections of scaffolding and formwork, as well as iron reinforcement. Particularly difficult was the removal of the still liquid concrete, which was done by hand.

About 120 forces with about 30 fire and civil defense vehicles were at the scene.

The dogs searched under the rubble.

Two of the trapped workers were gradually pulled out, but they were found dead. To extract the other two victims, more of the trapped rubble had to be removed. Only then was it possible to continue removing the already hardening concrete. About two and a half hours after the intervention began, the other two were also pulled out dead.

The Kosovo Embassy in Austria has officially reacted by confirming that Pajtim Barjami, Asllan Musli and Istref Zekaj were citizens of Kosovo.

"The Embassy of the Republic of Kosovo in Austria expresses its deep sorrow and sincere condolences to the families of the victims, as well as to all those affected by this tragedy. We are in constant communication with the Austrian authorities and are closely following every development regarding the case. At the same time, we are committed to providing all necessary support to the families of the victims," ​​the announcement states.


Video