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Winter service in action: Experts warn of black ice
Photo: Wolfgang Maria Weber / IMAGO
Roads and pavements are turning into dangerous slides: black ice has led to many accidents in parts of Germany. According to the police, a 29-year-old driver was killed in Lower Saxony when his car left the road on the B213 near Bremen and collided sideways with a tree.
There were also injuries in accidents in other parts of the country. There was no major chaos.
According to the police, flash ice led to more than 40 accidents in Kassel between Thursday evening and Friday morning. A total of four people were slightly injured. Near Koblenz, the Autobahn 61 was closed for about two hours due to many accidents.
In Saxony-Anhalt, a 41-year-old driver was slightly injured in an accident on the B180 in Stollberg, as the police announced on Friday night. According to the report, he lost control of his car with trailer at an intersection due to the slippery conditions and crashed into the traffic lights. The vehicle overturned and, like the traffic lights, was badly damaged. The trailer had also tipped over, the loaded wood pellets had spread on the road. Due to cleaning work, the B180 was temporarily closed. The property damage amounts to about 20,000 euros.
In North Rhine-Westphalia, too, there were dozens of traffic accidents with many injuries. In several regions, cyclists and motorcyclists crashed. In Dortmund, a cyclist was so badly injured in a fall that the doctors in the hospital fought for his life. In Dülmen in the north of the Ruhr area, six vehicles slid into each other – the occupants were slightly injured.
In Berlin, sidewalks and side streets were partially icy for hours. According to their own statements, the fire brigade moved out more than 300 times on Thursday evening. In most cases, those who had fallen had to be cared for, as a spokesman said. The fire brigade in Berlin spoke on the online platform X of a state of emergency and a high capacity utilization. All available ambulances are in use.
According to the DWD, pedestrians and motorists must continue to expect slippery conditions on Friday. The forecast at noon said: "Slippery conditions in the north and in the centre." According to the meteorologists, it will remain overcast and foggy, and the frost will only partially retreat from noon. The maximum temperatures during the day will be between minus one and plus one degree. In the night to Saturday there is again a risk of black ice in some areas.
fok/kfr/dpa