A ship with engine damage and 166 people on board almost crashed into a pier of the highway bridge near koblenz on the rhine river.
The manoeuvrable cabin vessel was drifting downstream with the current on wednesday morning, according to the water police in koblenz (rhineland-palatinate).
Even the two lowered bow anchors did not help. "It was only a few meters before a bridge abutment on the bendorf highway bridge that the damaged vehicle could be towed and secured by a salvage tanker," he said. Together with another tanker, the cabin vessel was successfully maneuvered to the quay wall in the port of bendorf.
There were no casualties according to the bendorf fire department. According to police reports, one of the tankers suffered minor property damage. Shipping was closed for an hour during the rescue operation. "The closer circumstances and the cause of the machine failure are currently being investigated," the water police announced. In addition to their officials, the german red cross and several fire departments were in action.