A segment of Carola Bridge succumbed to failure.
Overnight, emergency teams and heavy machinery are dealing with the collapsed Carolabridge section in Dresden. As a part of the demolition process, another section with tram tracks is being dismantled due to the forthcoming flood. The team is working against the clock.
On a Thursday afternoon announcement, the severely damaged Carolabridge section in Dresden, bearing tram tracks, was marked for total demolition. The preparations for a controlled explosion were in progress, as stated by fire department spokesman Michael Klahre. A professional crew was utilizing excavators, air hammers, and demolition vehicles to demolish part of bridge section C.
The aforementioned bridge section C, from which a 100-meter segment fell into the Elbe overnight, is critically unstable and cannot be maintained, Klahre reported. Laser measurements showed that the remaining fragments of this bridge section were sedimenting gradually.
At nightfall, the Technical Relief Agency (THW) disconnected the tram tracks and district heating pipes on the Neustadt side of the bridge by detonating small explosives. A 100-meter security perimeter was set up around the bridgehead on the Elbe bank side, comprising the Ministry of Finance and some state chancellery wings. Subsequently, the ministry and the affected chancellery departments were evacuated.
The rescue services are racing against time: from Sunday, the Elbe is predicted to flood, further intensifying the danger, according to Dresden's fire department. Heavy rainfall in the Czech Republic might cause the flooding. The State Flood Center anticipates up to 200 liters of precipitation per square meter in the Czech Republic and South Poland within 72 hours, and up to 350 liters in the high-elevation regions.
Heavy rain is also forecast in Saxony. Flood warnings could soon be issued for the Elbe, Lusatian Neisse, and Spree rivers. The approximately 400-meter-long bridge comprised a total of three bridge sections connected by transverse beams.
Following the controlled explosion, the remaining parts of bridge section C in Dresden, known for its tram tracks, will be carefully dismantled. Due to the predicted flood on Sunday, the Team in Dresden's fire department is intensifying its efforts to complete the demolition of Carolabridge section before the Elbe swells.
