A container barge has collided with the Willemsbrug in Rotterdam. The ship lost three containers, which ended up in the water, said a spokeswoman of the Dutch police. There were no casualties.
There were no dangerous substances in it, said the police. The containers were empty and floated to the shore and lifted from the water there.
The bridge was closed for some time due to investigation, but was reopened to car traffic after about two hours, the spokeswoman said. She stated the damage to the bridge is minimal. The cause of the accident is being investigated. The skipper has been heard by the police.
According to local media, the captain has made an error of assessment. At around 5 pm, when it was low tide, the ship was able to pass the bridge. The ship concerned, the German-flagged Rhenus Duisburg, was sailing with a push barge.
A video on Twitter shows that containers noisily falling off the ship when the bridge is hit. The ship then slowly sails backwards and the containers drift away.
Source: ANP
Picture: Video still from Twitter video by Maikel Coomans as embedded below.
Containerschip vaart tegen Willemsbrug #rotterdam #video Meerdere containers in t water en gezonken! @RTV_Rijnmond pic.twitter.com/AxFTp15qNU
— Maikel Coomans (@maikelcoomans85) July 1, 2020
Schip vaart tegen Willemsbrug en verliest 2 containers #willemsbrug #binnenvaart #portofrotterdam pic.twitter.com/5Fmtv6OmIx
— Bart Van Eijck (@bvaneijck) July 1, 2020
