Disaster in Cologne

In addition to the loss of life, today's catastrophic collapse of Cologne's municipal archives building has probably destroyed much of one of the most important collections of historical documents in Germany. Many stories about the collapse today; the AP story is here, with pictures. Deutsche Welle story here.

The Cologne city website's page on the archive is here; latest press release (in German) here. Immediate concern appears to be stabilization of the ruins, adjacent buildings, and a nearby construction crane, involving injection of concrete into underlying tunnels carved out for the city's subway system -- suggesting that initial denials that subway construction had anything to do with the collapse may well not hold up.

Posted by David on March 3, 2009 8:24 PM