major accident in the Netherlands. Tower collapse.
A fire took down one of the main broadcast masts in the Netherlands. And another mast was switched off when they smelled a fire odour!! Freak coincidence?? Consequence is that 80% of the country cannot recieve the five main station plus some commercial stations. Furthermore mobile communication is out in the northern part of the country. This disaster took place around 15:30 pm local, roughly two hours ago from posting this message.
The fire was short but the result was spectacular. I know this mast. It's a major beacon for me in the landscape.
First video on youtube! Strong language [[partly in Dutch... That's Kut and not Cut. I don't think I have to translate that one....)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEnukdJUgQc
Major bummer!!
Press release.
Quote:
THE HAGUE, [[AFP) - A fire caused a partial collapse of a 300-metre communications mast in northern Netherlands Friday, knocking out television and radio stations, a local municipal official said.
The fire at the 300-metre-high [[984 feet) television mast in Hoogersmilde in the Drenthe province, about 160 kilometres [[100 miles) northeast of Amsterdam, broke out around 2:00 pm [[1200 GMT), said Midden-Drenthe municipality spokeswoman Miriam Fokkema.
"There was a fire shortly before 2:00 pm and then at about 3:45 pm the upper part of the mast collapsed," Fokkema told AFP.
Dutch news agency ANP said a 200-metre-high metal mast collapsed on top of a 100-metre concrete tower after the fire broke out.
"Nobody is believed to have been injured," said Fokkema, adding that the area suffered severe communication problems with the tower used as a major broadcast hub for television, radio and telephone communications.
