- A construction crane fails, resulting in one fatality.
A mishap occurred at the Thuringian Bleilochtalsperre, known as Germany's largest reservoir, resulting in a fatality. Another worker sustained severe injuries and was transported to a medical facility, according to authorities.
The incident happened at midday, at a construction site on a bridge spanning the reservoir. The location of the incident is in Saaldorf, a suburb of Bad Lobenstein in the Saale-Orla district.
Unidentified Casualty
Authorities have yet to disclose the reasons behind the workplace accident. Additionally, the deceased's identity has yet to be confirmed. A police spokesperson noted that retrieving the body has been challenging due to it being trapped under the collapsed crane. Several emergency services, including the police, rescue teams, fire department, and local authorities, were attended to the scene.
Thuringia's state leader, Bodo Ramelow, of the Left Party, expressed his sympathies on social media platform X: "I share in the grief of the families. It's just heartbreaking. Such an unfortunate incident." He had visited the construction site two weeks earlier to assess the project's progress.
Accident Location in "Thuringian Sea"
The structural condition has necessitated the construction of a replacement bridge. Until the completion of the new bridge, traffic will continue to utilize the old bridge. The crane, which was being employed in the construction of the new bridge, buckled and collapsed longitudinally on the red steel infrastructure.
The Bleilochtalsperre in eastern Thuringia is regarded as Germany's largest reservoir, stretching 28 kilometers long and containing a water volume of 215 million cubic meters. As part of the expansion of federal highway B90 west of the "Thuringian Sea," the bridge over the Bleiloch reservoir is being refurbished.
The worker's fatal accident involved a leaded gasket that failed on the collapsed crane during the bridge construction. The emergency responders had to carefully remove the leaded gasket before they could retrieve the body.
