DRESDEN: A bridge partially collapsed in the eastern German city of Dresden early on Wednesday (Sep 11), with authorities saying no one was injured but that there was a risk of further sections crumbling.
A roughly 100m section of the Carola Bridge, which connects Dresden’s historic old town to other parts of the city, plunged into the Elbe river around 3am (9am, Singapore time), the Dresden fire brigade said.
The bridge and the surrounding area have been sealed off, causing major disruption to inner city traffic.
Officials warned that other parts of the bridge could yet come crashing down.
“There is still an acute danger to life and risk of collapse,” fire brigade spokesman Michael Klahre said.
Nobody was on or under the bridge at the time of the incident.
The last tram had crossed the bridge at around 2.50am (8.50, Singapore time), mere minutes before the collapse and narrowly avoiding catastrophe.
“I am very, very happy that based on what we know, no one was hurt,” Klahre said at a press conference alongside other officials.
Police spokesman Thomas Geithner said officers who happened to be stationed just 50 metres away “described hearing a loud, heavy noise, the ground shook”.
Rescue services and other experts were deployed at the scene to assess the damage and secure the bridge.
The cause of the collapse is still being investigated.
The concrete structure may have suffered from corrosion caused by chloride contamination in the past, Holger Kalbe, head of the bridges and civil engineering structures department for the city of Dresden, told reporters.
But he added that this was just a first “assumption” and experts would have more certainty on what happened in the coming days.
Source: CNA
