During the past six months, three employees at Northvolt in Skellefteå have been found dead in their homes, under mysterious circumstances. The police have now launched an investigation to investigate whether there is a connection between the deaths and the workplace.
– We work broadly with the investigation where the workplace is one thing, but we also look more deeply at their lives on the other side to get clarity on what happened, says Johan Stabbfors, group leader for environmental crimes in the police region North.
Many questions unanswered
19-year-old Maedin was an active young man with football as his main interest and plans to study at university. The family has many questions regarding his death, as the autopsy has so far been unable to determine the cause of death.
– Our fight is to find out what happened. What has really happened, says the father, Tela Ghidey Embaye.
In the case of a 33-year-old who died, the autopsy has not provided any clear answers either. The Swedish Forensic Medicine Agency may carry out an in-depth analysis to try to clarify what happened.
– We have an opportunity to store blood samples and the like for a long time, which can be saved while waiting for a new lookup or trace to appear, says Carl Söderberg, forensic pathologist at the Swedish Medical Examiner’s Office.
The latest death occurred on June 5, when a 59-year-old man died after his work shift. Here they are waiting for the first autopsy report. The police have decided to investigate the three deaths together to try to find a possible connection.
– Our absolute goal is to find the cause of the deaths and next week we will start with interrogations to get an idea of the people’s lives, says Johan Stabbfors, group leader for environmental crimes in the North police region who emphasizes that there is no criminal suspicion at the moment.
Trouble at the factory
Within the factory, the mysterious deaths have caused great concern. Sources that TV4 Nyheterna has been in contact with testify to a poor working environment and lack of handling of chemicals.
The safety representative states that the deceased worked on various tasks, but not in the parts of the factory that are considered dangerous.
– We talk to our colleagues at the factory and try to share the facts that we know, says Mikael Stenmark, chief safety representative for IF Metall at Northvolt.
Northvolt has said in a written statement that they welcome the police investigation, but that it may take time before they get clarity on what happened.