How did the Moosburg balcony crash come about?
While the investigation into the incident with injured people is ongoing, the cause of the accident is being puzzled over.
Moosburg
- Even two days after the accident in the Moosburg apartment building at Münchner Straße 1, the remains of the crashed balcony extension are still in the inner courtyard. The police cordoned off the eight-meter-long metal structure with a tape recorder. On Monday morning, a television team from Munich will record it, and the crash site will also be filmed. Because the events of late Saturday evening caused a sensation nationwide.
As reported, the balcony of a shared apartment on the first floor broke from its anchorage shortly after 10 p.m. and fell four meters with two young women.
The two 25-year-olds said they only wanted to smoke a cigarette when suddenly the ground under their feet gave way.
They were very lucky in misfortune - and only suffered minor injuries.
A neighbor who, at the time of the accident, was directly under the balcony and chatted with the women, got away with the horror: The frame missed him by an arm's length.
Public prosecutor's office investigates after the balcony crash in Moosburg
While the police and fire brigade were still on site on Saturday night to record the incident and use a crane to park the balcony in the courtyard, the crash site was also very busy on Monday. Some craftsmen from a local building renovator had started the planned work on a neighboring building early in the morning and reported that they had frequent visitors during the morning scaffolding construction. In addition to the police and the public prosecutor's office, some onlookers came by.
Even people from the trade - recognizable by their work clothes - stood shaking their heads next to the balcony scaffolding made of steel girders.
One mumbled that he was delighted that he had not been part of the construction work on the project.
Another passer-by expressed surprise at the rather undersized mounting pins and their dowels compared to the overall balcony.
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Was it because of the tenons and dowels that the balcony broke off?
A dishwashing sponge gives a size comparison.
© Josef Fuchs
However, all of this is pure speculation.
The commissioned expert and the investigators, who reconstruct the dramatic events, have to clarify the incident in the coming weeks.
As the Landshut Public Prosecutor Alexander Ecker told our newspaper, he does not expect reliable findings for a few weeks at the earliest.
Expert criticizes current testing practice for balcony extensions
The eight-meter-long metal balcony was retrofitted to the listed building a few months ago.
"In the case of purely residential buildings, this is not subject to testing," explains Ulrich Scholz, member of the board of the Bavarian Chamber of Engineers.
He sees it critically.
“As the client, I would still hire a test engineer,” says Scholz.
It costs, of course, so not everyone does it voluntarily.
The expert advises, however, not to save on a balcony extension.
Especially when it comes to older buildings, the potential for errors is great.
Scholz looked at the pictures of the house in Moosburg. There could be several reasons why the anchorage tore out of the wall, he says. “The wrong dowels could have been used, the dowels could have got into a cavity. "In most cases, the balcony then lasts for a while - and at some point a component gives way." Scholz argues that the criteria for mandatory testing should be set significantly higher for subsequent balcony construction. “The building regulations would have to be changed for this,” he explains. “But it is better to check once too much than once too little.” In North Rhine-Westphalia there had been a similar case this year, he reports. However, it didn't go off so lightly. Nine people were seriously injured there.
by Josef Fuchs and Katrin Woitsch
