Zurich station threatened by black hole
A tunnelling accident has paralysed the tram and bus network around Zurich's main railway station.
Tunnel work under the station was interrupted on Wednesday evening and the alarm raised after what project leader Roland Kobel called a “technical defect”.
A drilling machine ten metres underground suddenly slid back several metres, he said, leaving a roughly three-metre unsupported hole.
“There’s a danger of it caving in – around 30 cubic metres of earth have already subsided,” confirmed Marco Cortesi, spokesman for Zurich police.
There were concerns that more ground surrounding the Bahnhofplatz (station square) could collapse, but Cortesi said nearby buildings were not threatened.
However, trams and buses that normally go past the station would be out of action for at least 24 hours, he said.
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