Four dead after scaffolding collapses at Vienna building site

Four people were killed after scaffolding collapsed at a construction site in the courtyard of a residential apartment building in the upmarket ninth district of Vienna, a police spokesperson said on Tuesday.

The cause of the collapse and the exact nature of the work that had been taking place were not immediately clear, the spokesperson said, adding that the building was an old one typical of the area, where much of the architecture is from the 19th century.

A spokesperson for the ambulance service said a fifth person, a 45-year-old man, was seriously injured.

The street the accident occurred on, Porzellangasse, runs through the heart of the district, near the city's French school and the nearby Palais Liechtenstein, one of the city's most opulent historic palaces.

Police are interviewing witnesses, including construction workers who survived the accident, the spokesperson said.