Sweden’s $120 million Oceana Waterworld was destroyed in just 15–18 minutes due to a fire triggered by a welding accident.

The disaster occurred on February 12, 2024, at Oceana Waterworld in Gothenburg, Sweden, just weeks before its scheduled grand opening. Workers were performing a 17-minute welding task on pipe installations when a burning smell was noticed. Smoke soon emerged from the water slides, and within minutes, flames erupted. The fire escalated rapidly, culminating in a massive explosion that reduced the entire facility to burning wreckage within an hour, leaving one fatality, site manager Patrick Gillholm, 36, trapped inside.