DRESDEN: A bridge partially collapsed in the eastern German city of Dresden early Wednesday morning, with authorities saying no one was injured but more sections were at risk of collapse. A roughly 100-meter (330-foot) section of the Carola Bridge, which connects Dresden’s historic old town with other parts of the city, plunged into the Elbe River around 03:00 (01:00 CET), Dresden firefighters said. The bridge and surrounding areas were sealed off, causing major disruption to inner city traffic. Officials warned that other parts of the bridge could still collapse. “There is still an acute threat to life and danger of collapse,” said fire department spokesman Michael Klahre. No one was on or under the bridge at the time of the incident. The last tram crossed the bridge at around 02:50, just minutes before it collapsed, narrowly avoiding disaster. “I’m very, very happy that based on what we know, no one was hurt,” Klahre said at a news conference along with other officials. Police spokesman Thomas Geithner said the officers, who happened to be only 50 meters away, “described hearing a loud, heavy noise, the ground shaking.” Emergency services and other experts were deployed to the scene to assess the damage and secure the bridge. The cause of the collapse is still under investigation. The concrete structure may have suffered from corrosion caused by chloride contamination in the past, Holger Kalbe, head of the city of Dresden’s bridge and civil engineering department, told reporters. However, he added that this is only a first “guess” and experts will be more certain about what happened in the coming days.
