As a result of the collision, two containers from the ship ended up in the water, three others became vertically stuck under the bridge. “As a result, the road surface of the bridge was pushed up,” says the Belgian fire brigade. The hoisting and salvage of the ship will take some time.
The emergency services were called to the shipping accident just after 10:30 p.m. Monday evening. Divers from the fire brigade were sent to the scene and the fire brigade immediately launched two fire boats into the water to mark the two containers with buoys.
The other emergency services took care of the driver of the truck. He had driven unsuspectingly on the N16 towards Mechelen, after which he crashed head-on against the raised road surface of the Ring Bridge. The devastation was particularly great. The driver was able to climb out of the vehicle on his own. He was in shock and was taken to hospital for treatment.
“We are currently doing the necessary so that the containers can be removed from the water and we hope to free the ship from under the bridge as soon as possible,” said fire captain Simon. This will probably take quite some time. For example, the truck must first be hoisted and the bridge can only be lifted afterwards. Only then can an engineer from the Flemish Waterway inspect the bridge and it will become clear whether the Ring Bridge has been damaged.
The cause of the accident is still being investigated by the local police.
2023-05-09 03:58:59
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