The five people who died this week when a construction elevator crashed 20 metres to the ground in Sundbyberg, north of Stockholm, came from Sweden, Russia, Ukraine and Afghanistan, writes Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet…

“We have more than 300 Russian-speaking construction workers among our members. Immigrants are not valued as Swedes when it comes to salary, security or safety. If a Swedish builder earns 200 kronor an hour, an immigrant earns 95 kronor,” Pamela Otarola of SAC Stockholm told Aftonbladet.

"Ukrainian builders have been exploited for many years in Sweden. They arrived even before the war and sometimes work without food and pay."

The construction elevator collapsed at a site for a 14-storey apartment building on Monday morning. Investigations are under way to determine what caused the accident and whether anyone should be held responsible. Some 50 builders were working at the site.

The victims were working for a subcontractor to the main construction company Andersson Company.

A total of 52 people have died in workplace-related accidents in Sweden in 2023, the highest number in a decade.