Three Dead in Fall from Harz Tower

Three people died after falling from an observation tower in the Harz Mountains. Help came too late for them, as a fire department spokesperson confirmed. It is still unclear how the accident occurred this afternoon in Altenau, Lower Saxony (Goslar district). The “Goslarsche Zeitung” was the first to report the story.

Numerous emergency responders and police officers are on the scene. The fire department was alerted around 4:45 p.m. They cordoned off the scene and set up privacy screens. The district’s crisis intervention team is also on the scene.

What Is Known About the Harz Tower

The Harzturm is a 65-meter-high observation tower in the Upper Harz region. According to the operator, it is Germany’s tallest observation tower with a wood-and-steel structure. The structure, which cost around 10 million euros to build and received approximately 1.4 million euros in funding from state and federal governments, features two observation decks and a “skywalk” with a glass floor at a height of 45 meters.

You can go up on foot via stairs or by elevator; the way down includes, among other things, a 110-meter-long slide. The building also houses a restaurant and a souvenir shop.

Completion had been postponed several times—according to the operators, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and the energy crisis. Ground was broken in May 2021, and the tower was officially inaugurated on November 1, 2024, by Lower Saxony’s then-Minister President Stephan Weil (SPD). All areas did not become fully operational until later.