4 workers are dead after scaffolding fell down an elevator shaft at a building site in Germany

BERLIN — Four Bulgarian construction workers died when scaffolding fell down an elevator shaft inside a building site in Hamburg on Monday and another suffered life-threatening injuries, German authorities said.

There was no immediate word on why the scaffolding collapsed from the eighth floor, German news agency dpa reported.

Officials initially reported that five people died. The fire service said there was no longer anyone missing.

Recovery workers spent hours sifting through and removing debris piled up over several floors. The city government said the victims were Bulgarian nationals.

The accident happened in the Ueberseequartier, part of the port city's HafenCity district on the Elbe river that is being redeveloped with office and residential buildings, hotels and shops.