In Troja, a footbridge collapsed into the Vltava, and there are injuries on the scene

Prague - This afternoon, a concrete footbridge collapsed into the Vltava River near the Troja Castle in Prague. Four people were injured in the fall, two of them seriously. A sixty-year-old man is in an induced coma, and a woman three years older than him has multiple injuries just like him. The other two men are not seriously injured, rescue workers reported on Twitter. Through the mayor of Prague 7, Jan Čižinský, they asked the public not to come to the site at this time.

The 260-meter-long footbridge, which connects Troja Castle to Císařský Island, fell around 1:30 PM. "Part of the bridge collapsed, and it is partially at risk of falling," described firefighter spokesperson Martin Kavka to ČTK. A structural engineer was called to the site. The Technical Administration of Communications (TSK), responsible for Prague's bridges, stated back in 2014 that the cables of the bridge were significantly weakened due to corrosion. TSK spokesperson Barbora Lišková told ČTK that the administration will comment on the bridge's collapse no earlier than tonight.

"We treated four injured people at the collapsed bridge in Troja," the rescuers informed two hours after the structure's collapse, stating that the injured were secured and transported to Prague hospitals. The sixty-year-old man ended up in the anesthesiology-resuscitation department, and the seriously injured woman is in intensive care. A forty-three-year-old man has bruised back, and a thirty-four-year-old man injured his leg and wrist.

A ČTK reporter reports that the municipal police cordoned off both ends of the broken footbridge with tape at about fifty meters away from the structure. This keeps a number of onlookers, attracted by the accident, at a safe distance. Only a portion of the fire and police vehicles remain on the scene; rescue operations have stopped in the river. Previously, people in wetsuits searched the Vltava, and service dogs were also present on the shore, along with a firefighter boat on the water. Canoeists from a nearby club also assisted in the search for any additional injured.

Mayor Čižinský reminded on Facebook that water flowed over the bridge during the floods in 2002. "We will meet with city councilors this evening and request a ferry as alternative transport and the quickest replacement of the footbridge selected through an architectural competition," he stated. The footbridge was used by people heading to the Prague Zoo, for example.

"I promptly request an extraordinary meeting of the supervisory board of the Technical Administration of Communications with the participation of workers responsible for bridges and footbridges," added city councilor Ondřej Mirovský for ČTK.

TSK conducted geodetic measurements of the bridge's deflection in 2014. After necessary work was completed in 2011 and other measures, they estimated the bridge's lifespan during normal operation to be five to seven years. The Prague Pirates stated today in a press release that TSK has known about the poor condition of the footbridge since 2009. According to them, this is evident from material approved by Prague councilors last April. The Pirates claim that TSK has long neglected the maintenance of bridges.

The suspension bridge, which served exclusively for pedestrians and cyclists, connected the Prague district of Troja with Císařský Island since July 1984. A temporary pontoon bridge had stood in its place since 1976, which was swept away by floods in the summer of 1981. The bridge was designed by Professor Jiří Stráský, one of the most significant Czech authors of bridge constructions. It was built using a non-traditional technology, where the deck consisted of panel segments strung together like "beads" on strong steel cables, with the structure suspended on support blocks on both banks.