Earlier this summer police launched an investigation after three apparently healthy men who all worked at Northvolt passed away at home in the past six months following shifts at the factory. It has not yet been established whether the deaths are linked or just a coincidence. 

On Tuesday, police announced a fourth person died in July. 

A fifth person also took ill while working at the factory, police said.

Northvolt said the fourth death was unrelated to the workplace.

“I have had it confirmed by police that the death to which they refer is a colleague who died after a tragic drowning accident in their spare time,” Northvolt press spokesperson Matti Kataja told the Aftonbladet newspaper.

“It would be good if police could be clear about this to avoid speculation, as the information obviously causes concern and leads to more rumours,” he added.

In January, a 33-year-old man was found dead in his bed after working an evening shift as a cleaner at Northvolt. A month later, a 19-year-old was also found dead in bed after his shift at the factory. And in June a 59-year-old man was found dead on his balcony.

The only things the three men seem to have in common are that their deaths cannot be explained, and that they all happened after they had worked shifts at Northvolt’s flagship factory. However, there is no evidence that their deaths are linked to their work at Northvolt.

Police have not labelled any of the deaths as suspicious, but one of the unconfirmed theories that have been floated in the media is that they could possibly have been exposed to some kind of substance in the workplace.

“At the moment, there is no concrete connection between any of the incidents, nor have we been able to ascertain what caused the incidents,” said police on Tuesday.

The investigation is still ongoing. 

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