After the flood disaster in North Rhine-Westphalia: did Baupfusch lead to drama?

Raid against open pit operators

Created: 01/11/2022, 12:50 PM

By: Patrick Huljina

In July 2021, Germany was hit by a flood disaster.

In this context, there was a raid in North Rhine-Westphalia on Tuesday.

Erftstadt - Heavy rainfalls triggered catastrophic flooding on several rivers in Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia in mid-July last year.

Many communities were devastated.

In total, more than 180 people died.

A landslide with serious consequences occurred in Erftstadt.

Now the public prosecutor's office in Cologne has arranged extensive searches of suspects.

After the flood disaster in Erftstadt: Raid against open pit operators

In connection with the devastating demolition of a gravel pit in Erftstadt, the police carried out a raid on Tuesday (January 11), including against an open pit operator.

The public prosecutor said that the investigation was based on the suspicion of negligent causing a flood, the building risk and violation of the Federal Mining Act.

In the accident, numerous houses in the Blessem district near the gravel pit were washed down and collapsed.

Numerous houses collapsed or were in danger of collapsing as a result of the flooding.

(Archive image) © Jonas Güttler / dpa

According to the public prosecutor's office, more than 140 police officers searched more than 20 office and residential addresses in North Rhine-Westphalia and one property in Thuringia.

According to the current status of the investigations, there is a suspicion that there was no flood protection wall on the southern edge of the so-called "old area" of the gravel pit that complied with official regulations.

In addition, the embankments were "impermissibly steep".

"There is a suspicion that the accused would have recognized the conditions at the flood protection wall and the pit embankments due to their professional involvement with the gravel pit and could and should have taken remedial action," said Cologne Public Prosecutor Ulrich Bremer about the allegations. 

Flood disaster in Erftstadt: several houses and castle swept away by water

The investigation is now directed against the owner and lessor of the opencast mine in Erftstadt, five suspects from the operating company and four suspects from the Arnsberg district government, which is the responsible supervisory and licensing authority under the Federal Mining Act.

On the night of July 16, 2021, the ground near a gravel pit on the Erft River in Erftstadt-Blessem had slipped away after heavy rain flooded the pit.

Several houses and parts of a historic castle were swept away.

The Cologne district government initially reported several deaths in the Blessem district.

Fortunately, however, no victims were found in the collapsed houses.