A general cargo vessel has allided with a railway bridge over the Eems river in Germany, heavily damaging the structure and blocking vessel traffic on the waterway between Leer and Papenburg.
The bascule bridge was not raised correctly to allow the Emsmoon (pictured) to pass underneath while underway from Papenburg, and was struck at 18.40hrs local time on Thursday. The bascule was severely bent by the collision, German reports say.
(pictured) to pass underneath while underway from Papenburg, and was struck at 18.40hrs local time on Thursday. The bascule was severely bent by the collision, German reports say.The cause of the allision is not clear, the German Water Police told Neue Oz. A pilot was onboard the vessel at the time of the collision and a bridge watchkeeper was also on site when the incident occurred.
The 112-metre-long Emsmoon suffered some damage at the foreship, but was towed away and moored in Papenburg at around 23:00hrs. The singledecker is owned by Grona Shipping, which is based in the German city.
Image: DPA / noz.de
The correct name of the river is the Ems, not the Eems which is the Dutch name for it.