Press
A huge rock avalanche crashes onto a road. Road maintenance workers close the section shortly beforehand, thus preventing an accident.
Aggsbach/Melk – On June 3rd, a rockslide occurred on the B33 in the municipality of Schönbühel-Aggsbach in the Lower Austrian district of Melk. More than 13,000 cubic meters of rock blocked the road shortly after the debris flow. No one was injured because shortly before the rockslide, road maintenance workers recognized the impending danger and closed the road. Road users still complained about the action, which probably saved their lives.
Rockslide after storm in Austria: Road workers save lives
The road service workers who closed part of the B33 are being Kronenzeitung have already been called the “Heroes of Aggsbach”. When a few small pieces of rock fell onto the road, the employees acted immediately and closed the road. This annoyed the drivers in particular. As the Kronenzeitung further reported that a bus driver in particular complained about the actions of the road maintenance workers. He is said to have stressed that he had to stick to his schedule.
But just a few minutes later, the accident happened. A huge mass of rock fell down the cliff and buried the road beneath it. If the workers had not closed the road, there is a high probability that 22,000 tons of rock would have hit the bus and all its passengers. Just on Tuesday (June 4), a rockslide damaged four cars in Austria.
Rockfall disaster in Austria: “The worst prevented”
“The colleagues worked perfectly, acted carefully and saved people’s lives. Only by immediately closing the road […] The worst could be prevented,” said Lower Austria’s Deputy Minister for Transport Udo Landbauer. The road between Aggsbach-Dorf and Aggstein is still closed. The inspection of the stone massif is being prepared, the Lower Austrian state government announced.
There is also a risk that other rock areas above could collapse. It is not yet clear how long the road closure will last. Rock falls are nothing new for the people of Melk. Just a few months ago, a large boulder crashed onto the same road. (vk)
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