The burned-out half of the Copenhagen landmark has collapsed, the Danish fire department said. "Unfortunately, the facade along the Frederiksholms Canal collapsed," the emergency services said on the social media platform X.
Emergency services are trying to bring paintings from the 400-year-old building to safety. Previously, attempts had been made to stabilize the walls, which were in danger of collapsing, using containers; but only from the outside. The inside was still blocked by rubble. No one was injured in the fire, and all workers were able to get to safety when the collapse occurred. The fire broke out in the old stock exchange on Tuesday morning (April 16) and was put out by midday (April 17). The Danish king has called for the stock exchange to be rebuilt. The fire has now subsided, but the operation on the old stock exchange in Copenhagen is not yet over. Hundreds of firefighters have been fighting the flames since Tuesday morning. Part of the building was badly damaged, said operations manager Tim Ole Simonsen at Hovedstadens Beredskab. The "Dragespir" was placed on the historic building in 1625. The top of the tower, entwined with four dragon tails, was crowned with three crowns symbolizing the Scandinavian empires - Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. According to legend, these dragons protected the building from major fires in the city's history. However, the fire on Tuesday probably broke out very close to the Dragon Tower. The copper roof had collapsed and was fueling the fire. If the supporting structures inside the building burn, the walls become unstable. The building will burn down the tower towards Christiansborg; the part that extends from the tower to the harbor has been secured by rescue workers. The situation is critical, because it is difficult to put out the fire under the copper roof.