Road collapses in central Finland, one injured

On July 15, a major road collapse occurred in Keuruu, Central Finland, injuring one worker and cutting off a key transport route for the second time in less than a year.

The incident took place around 9:00 a.m. on Virtaintie near the Katajamäki overpass in Haapamäki, Caliber.Az reports, citing Yle.

According to the Central Finland ELY Centre, a construction worker was injured during the collapse but is not in life-threatening condition.

The road collapsed over several metres and has been closed to traffic. Detours are in place via roads 346 and 3481. Heavy vehicles are advised to reroute earlier between Virrat and Keuruu.

This same road partially collapsed in October 2024. The current collapse occurred on the southern lane during ground testing. Project manager Jouni Saunamäki said the drilling was carried out to assess risk: "We feared this might happen, but it still came as a surprise."

The cause is under investigation. Wet weather may have softened the ground, and vibrations from drilling may have played a role. A geotechnical expert will examine the site on Thursday.

Janne Jaatinen from the ELY Centre said one lane could reopen within 2–3 days using traffic lights. Full repairs are expected to take months. Reinforcement pillars, like those used last year, will be installed.

Eyewitness Juha Alander from Sipoo, visiting his summer cottage nearby, described the scene as shocking: "I’ve worked in emergency services and seen a lot, but this made my jaw drop. The whole road had fallen away, guardrails and all."

He also noted road conditions in Central Finland are often worse than in urban areas. Still, such a collapse on a national highway came as a surprise.

Police are at the scene and traffic is being closely monitored.

By Aghakazim Guliyev