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Łazienkowski Bridge up in smoke again

PR dla Zagranicy
Jo Harper 16.08.2015 08:04
A second fire in six months on Łazienkowski Bridge in the Polish capital Warsaw was put out by fire-fighers on Saturday morning.
Łazienkowski Bridge. Photp: Wikimedia CommonsŁazienkowski Bridge. Photp: Wikimedia Commonstvn24

Spokesperson of the local fire department Karol Kierzkowski told the Polish Press Agency (PAP) that cables had been on fire and were extinguished by 10 fire engines at the scene and that the “situation is under control.”

Boats were also on call to help extinguish the fire from the river.

No one was hurt, the spokesperson said, after the fire started in the middle, the oldest part, of the bridge.

A large fire in February closed the bridge and necessitated a major reconstruction.

Saturday’s fire lasted throughout the night on to Sunday, with firefighters tackling a blaze which reached temperatures up to 1,000 degrees Celsius.

It is still not known what caused the fire, although the District Prosecution in Warsaw’s Praga District announced on Monday that it is to conduct an investigation into the matter.

- See more at: http://www.thenews.pl/1/9/Artykul/197254,Fire-damage-to-Lazienkowski-bridge-%E2%80%98greater-than-expected%E2%80%99#sthash.d5ZOYhby.dpuf

The bridge will be open by the end of October, but the whole renovation will not be finished until next year, the builders said.

Magdalena Sojka-Kobrzyńska from the press office of Bilfinger Infrastructure, which won the general contractor's reportedly approx. PLN 100 million contract to renovate the bridge, said in early August that the first phase of the renovation will be finished in September. This is taking down the old parts of the bridge, which was damaged by fire in February.

Since mid-July, six parts of the bridge have been renovated from the Powiśle side on the west bank and five from the Saska Kępa side. There are 19 such elements to be completed, Sojka-Kobrzyńska said. (jh/rk)

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