Accidents - Ceiling of lecture hall at Marburg University collapses
The ceiling of a large lecture hall in a historic building at Philipps-Universität Marburg collapsed on Sunday night. "The cause is still unclear. It is currently being investigated," said a university spokeswoman on Monday. No people were injured in the incident in the so-called Landgrafenhaus, which houses part of the law faculty. No one was in the building at the time of the collapse, the spokesperson said.
Pictures of the scene of the accident illustrate what could have happened when the ceiling collapsed: Piled-up debris lies on the seats of the lecture hall, which was one of the university's larger lecture halls with 400 seats, it said. "We are very happy that no one was injured when the ceiling collapsed," explained the President of Philipps University, Thomas Nauss. "We are now working flat out to find out the cause of the accident and want to start the clean-up work as soon as possible."
According to the university, the building's fire alarm system initially went off late on Saturday evening. The fire department, the university's fire safety officer and Nauss were on site immediately. On Sunday night, the President ordered a ban on entering the entire building and informed all users.
The university announced that the building would now remain closed until a structural safety inspection had been completed. Courses will be relocated or held digitally. Teaching in the Faculty of Law will be offered entirely online this week, also to give students planning security for the coming days.
The building, which was built in 1924, houses several lecture halls and seminar rooms as well as offices for the Department of Law. It is mainly used for courses in the Law and Economics departments.
A structural engineer was called in on Sunday night. Following the structural analysis, an expert will decide which parts of the building can be used again and when. The amount of damage is not yet known, but is likely to be at least in the six-figure range, it was said.
According to the information provided, the collapsed ceiling was a historic wooden coffered ceiling. The ventilation system was also replaced during a roof and fire protection renovation between 2010 and 2012. Above the ceiling is the attic and the roof of the building, which is supported by a steel structure.
It was only at the beginning of November that the roof of the Catholic Elisabeth Church in Kassel collapsed along its entire length. A church employee who was in the building at the time of the collapse remained unharmed on the outside, but suffered a shock.
Statement from the University of Marburg
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The incident occurred on a Sunday night, in a lecture hall located in Marburg University's historic Landgrafenhaus. Although Hesse-based university spokeswoman mentioned an ongoing investigation, thankfully, no one was injured during the accident. With the building closed for a structural safety inspection, courses will be temporarily relocated or held digitally, including law teaching this week.
Source: www.stern.de
