Firefighters secure the manhole cover Photo: Spreepicture
By Peter Oldenburger
That could have been dangerous for evening walkers! Suddenly a deep hole opened up in the middle of a sidewalk in Pankow.
The reason for the nasty trap: A large manhole cover fell near the intersection of Prenzlauer Promenade and Prenzlauer Allee. On Easter Monday, passers-by discovered the hole above an old bunker several meters below.
First, they alerted the police. Shortly after 7 p.m., the officials called the fire brigade, which came with five vehicles and a crane. The men inspected the sudden entrance to one of Berlin’s largest bunkers and secured the dangerous area that had arisen for reasons that were not yet clear.
With combined strength, the firefighters then pulled the plate out of the shaft. The hole was sealed again before nightfall. According to a fire department spokesman, the 16 emergency services were able to move away again around 8:20 p.m.