Finland in shock: wooden church catches fire during Christmas sermon – doors blocked on purpose?
Created: 2022-12-26 06:03
By: Florian Naumann
A wooden church in Kerimäki, Finland - a slightly smaller example burned down under mysterious circumstances at Christmas.
© IMAGO/Alexei Danichev
During the Christmas sermon, a Finnish priest discovers a fire at the wooden church.
The case causes concern: Apparently the doors had been locked.
Rautjärvi/Munich - A mysterious church fire just during a Christmas sermon causes a stir in Finland: A historically valuable wooden church in Rautjärvi near the Russian border burned down completely on Christmas Day.
According to reports, the pastor himself discovered the flames first and warned the community.
Several details cause concern: According to the
Helsingin Sanomat
newspaper , the outer doors were tied down.
According to a representative of the local church community, to make the escape more difficult.
At the same time a house was burning not too far away.
There, investigators found a body.
A possible connection has not yet been elucidated.
Finland: Wooden churches burned during Christmas sermon - "severe sabotage" possible
The events of Sunday morning (December 25) must have been dramatic.
The priest first saw smoke coming through the main entrance in the middle of the sermon, and a little later the first flames, said Prelatin Leena Haakana of the STT news agency.
Then the fire alarm went off.
According to Finnish media reports, the church gates were tied together with a rope.
Fortunately, it was still possible to push open the doors, the eyewitness and former prelate Kari Luumo reported to the newspaper
Ilta Sanomat
.
Around 30 people - all those present - managed to free themselves from the church.
According to the information available on Sunday evening, no one was injured.
Finland puzzles over church fire: corpse found in the neighborhood
The police initially expressed reluctance, but determined because of possible arson.
According to
hbl.fi
, the authorities' initial suspicion is "serious sabotage", but it could become even more serious.
Haakana warned to avoid "excessive speculation".
However, Luumi hinted that the construction on the door could indicate a more serious crime than the currently suspected sabotage.
On Sunday evening, the Finnish police reported another fire about 20 kilometers away.
A body was found in the affected house.
The investigators are investigating a possible connection - a wine-red Opel Astra seems to play a role.
The police asked witnesses for help.
She promised further insights for the beginning of the week.
According to official information, there was no risk of further fires in the region.
Meanwhile, the wooden church in Rautjärvi burned to the ground.
It was built in 1881 - and with space for 1330 people was one of the largest churches of its kind in Finland, writes the Swedish broadcaster SVT.
The church tower collapsed within a short time, eyewitnesses reported.
The interior of the regionally typical wooden churches is almost always made of wood, Bishop Bo-Göran Åstrand explained to
hbl.fi
: "The fire in Rautjärvi shows how incredibly quickly a fire can get out of control." (
fn
)
