Berlin declares state of emergency after hundreds are injured in black ice falls

By MAIL FOREIGN SERVICE
Updated: 12:45 EST, 6 January 2011

Berlin's fire brigade declared a state of emergency today after more than 180 people were injured in falls on black ice and airports in Germany's capital were forced to cancel flights.

The decision to make the announcement at 8.40am was taken after an increased number of rescue missions.

Berlin City Brigade It said it had received about 50 per cent more calls regarding injured persons than normal. Ice also caused traffic accidents elsewhere in the country.

Treacherous: Odarka Pannenberg, 66, displays her plaster casts in Berlin's Virchow hospital, after she fractured wrist bones in both of her hands when slipping on an icy pavement in front of her house

Perilous: A ground view of the layer of ice that has covered the city after freezing rain, here seen at the Brandenburg Gate

Trains and public transport were delayed during rush hour and pedestrians took to the streets to avoid slippery pavements.

No planes departed from or landed at Berlin's Tegel international airport for two hours in the morning and 15 flights were cancelled.

There were also delays at Schoenefeld airport as the airfields had to be cleared of ice. Normal service should be restored by the afternoon, an airport spokesman said.

Hard at work: A snow plough and gritting truck tries to clear the airfield at Tegel airport in Berlin

Horrid conditions: Cars drive slowly on a frozen city highway in Berlin