Seven injured after wooden bridge collapses during wedding photo in Grue, Norway

Wooden bridge collapse during group photo

A wedding reception at the Gruetunet open-air museum in the municipality of Grue in southern Norway ended abruptly on Saturday, 22 August 2026, when an elevated wooden walkway collapsed beneath attendees. The incident occurred shortly after 14:00, just minutes after the bride and groom concluded their wedding vows on the museum grounds. Approximately 20 guests, together with the newly married couple, assembled on a wooden bridge structure that serves as an entrance gangway to a traditional barn on the property to pose for a commemorative group photograph. Under the combined weight of the wedding party, the wooden construction suddenly gave way, plunging the guests to the ground below. Uninjured attendees and museum staff immediately contacted regional emergency services to request urgent medical response at the cultural site.

Triage and hospital transport for injured guests

Emergency response teams, ambulances, and police units deployed to the Gruetunet open-air grounds to coordinate medical triage and evacuation. Initial bulletins indicated that five participants were transferred to medical facilities, with emergency authorities later clarifying that seven people suffered injuries during the bridge failure. Paramedics treated two individuals on the scene for minor injuries and cleared them without hospital transport. Road ambulances transported four injured guests to the nearby hospital in Kongsvinger for clinical evaluation and treatment. An air ambulance helicopter airlifted a fifth patient directly to a hospital in Oslo. While early reports suggested two individuals sustained serious injuries, police investigators subsequently confirmed that the patient airlifted to Oslo did not have severe trauma.

Eyewitness accounts and immediate rescue efforts

Witnesses and municipal officials present at the ceremony described the immediate aftermath of the structural failure as distressing and disorienting. Rune Grenberg, the mayor of Grue municipality who officiated the marriage ceremony shortly before the collapse, reported that victims lay pinned beneath fallen wooden components and across one another in the rubble. The 28-year-old son of the groom stated that he had harbored safety doubts about the strength of the bridge moments before the group assembled. Upon hearing a sudden loud crash, he rushed directly to the wreckage to lift broken timber beams and free trapped wedding guests. Other uninjured attendees assisted him in extricating family members until medical crews secured the area.

Investigation into rotted support beams

Norwegian police launched a formal investigation to determine the regulatory compliance, structural conditions, and maintenance history of the collapsed bridge. Anders Jan Larsson, the director of the museum, acknowledged after the incident that the supporting timber beams beneath the photo platform were completely rotted through. A representative of the institution further disclosed that three primary load-bearing beams holding up the bridge had deteriorated into rotten wood before the gathering took place. The Gruetunet site, which operates as part of the Norwegian Forest Finn Museum, pledged complete transparency and full cooperation with law enforcement. Investigators are documenting the failed timber components to clarify how the structural rot developed without timely detection.