North Rhine-Westphalia: The situation in Erftstadt continues to be dramatic

Huge landslides and huge craters: Large parts of Erftstadt in North Rhine-Westphalia have been destroyed. It is still unclear how many people were harmed. The city expects fatalities.

After the storms of the past few days, the situation in one place in North Rhine-Westphalia is particularly dramatic: In Erftstadt-Blessem, southwest of Cologne, the Erft undermined numerous houses and caused them to collapse in whole or in part. As a result of erosion, large areas of soil simply fell away. There were huge landslides and craters formed in the ground. As of Friday evening, houses and part of the historic castle collapsed. Parts of Autobahn 1 were washed away and broke away. It is still unclear how many victims there are.

Fatalities feared

“We assume several deaths, but we don’t know,” said North Rhine-Westphalia Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU). There are no fatalities in the eastern part of the village, which has been thinned out so far, and everyone living there is safe. “But that’s not the whole city yet.” The situation is confusing. The fire brigade suspects deaths in vehicles on the flooded streets around Erftstadt. The flood came quickly, said District Administrator Frank Rock (CDU) the broadcaster ntv. There was hardly any time to warn people.

At a press conference in the evening, Mayor Carolin Weitzel also said: “Unfortunately, we have to assume that there will be fatalities during the rescue.” Weitzel also had good news: 280 people had been rescued in the past few hours, 106 in the Blessem district alone. The focus is on saving people. Six helicopters and 35 lifeboats are in use. The work is difficult: According to TV reports, residents tried to call rescuers to their attention.

Water goes back a little

According to the fire brigade, the water in Blessem has now decreased a little, but it is still high in the town center. Divers are currently trying to get into houses where people are still trapped. The situation in the village therefore remains tense – and the dams also have to hold up. Many volunteers fill sandbags on site to secure the dams. Mayor Weitzel recently spoke of falling water levels.

Steinmeier wants to visit the city on Saturday

The nearby Cologne provided accommodation for 80 people from Erftstadt at short notice after Mayor Weitzel asked for help. The city of Cologne announced that those seeking help were taken to an emergency shelter for disasters in the cathedral city by coach.

Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier wants to visit the Rhein-Erft district on Saturday. According to the NRW State Chancellery, Steinmeier will come to Erftstadt at noon with Prime Minister Armin Laschet, get an idea of ​​the current situation in the fire brigade control center and talk to rescue workers.